Court Ordered Drug Rehab

Drug courts throughout the nation vary on admission guidelines and sentencing practices, but in general, to be considered eligible for inclusion into a drug court program, you must not have been arrested for major drug trafficking, it must be a first or nearly first offence, and there must be no history of violent crime. Courts mandate residential treatment, compulsory attendance at group therapy meetings and compulsory transitional or halfway housing, depending on the severity of the addiction, and the needs of the offender. If the offender completes their period of treatment fully, and passes several random drug tests, at the end of an agreed upon length of time they are considered rehabilitated, and their record is most often expunged from police files.

There currently exists a great demand for this usually voluntary program, and federal and state funded treatment slots do not meet the needed demand; and as such many are disallowed beneficial access due to a lack of penal treatment capacity. Additionally, periods of residential treatment may be cut shorter than would be optimum to make room for a next participant in the program.

Critics say that these programs, which are designed to be both more humane to people suffering from substance use, and also cheaper to fund, are ineffective. They point out that a great number of people assigned to court ordered drug rehab programs fail to complete the mandatory participation, and that the recidivism rates back to abuse are relatively high. When a court sentenced drug offender fails to stay off of drugs, they are considered to have violated the terms of the drug court sentencing, and are re exposed to the justice system to face the penalty for their crimes in conventional court. Essentially, drug court sentencing simply delays prison time for many participants, and costs the government more as both the bill for treatment, and then prison, both need to be paid by the taxpayer.

Although drug courts remain controversial, proponents explain that although relapse does occur, the system is designed to allow for a certain amount of relapse without immediate incarceration; and that relapse is simply a normal part of the recovery process. Proponent point to relatively high abstinence rates amongst those that successfully complete all court ordered programming, and explain that even if a percentage of addicts are helped away from addiction, and become better citizens, the ultimate cost to the tax payer is reduced substantially (It is estimated that one dollar spent towards drug treatment yields a seven dollar societal savings).

For the moment, inclusion into a court ordered rehab program is considered a lucky break for an addict struggling with dependence. Not only does mandated treatment allow an arrested offender to avoid incarceration, it also grants them access to comprehensive and sometimes otherwise unaffordable residential drug treatment slots. Since treatment statistics show that the motivation at the point of entry to a program has little influence over the likelihood of ultimate success, the probability that an addiction can be broken through court mandated drug rehab is high. Additionally, since full participation in court mandated aftercare increases the ultimate probability of success and long term sobriety, drug addicts have a better chance at sobriety as they are forced to continue with treatment even after being released from a rehab facility.

Drug court mandated drug rehab treatment is not a guarantee of sobriety, and some degree of relapse and a continuing struggle towards recovery is to be expected. Participants with access to court ordered drug rehab and court funded drug and alcohol addiction treatment have a unique opportunity to better their lives as they avoid incarceration. Court ordered drug rehab operates as a needed lifeline to many struggling with addiction, and although many don’t see it as a blessing when initially arrested, many that have completed the enforced programming's are returning to the courtrooms to thank court officers for the access to lifesaving and life bettering treatment.

Court ordered drug rehab may not work in every case, but when it works it provides a great service to both the addict and to society as a whole.