Are drug courts the solution to addressing nonviolent drug offenders?

Besides the war on drugs there has been an increased interest in creating treatment-

based options for drug using offenders. Evidence for this lie not only in drug courts’ involvement

of the community for the enhancement of resources, but also the out-growth of drug courts into

community drug courts r family drug courts with a more restorative theme (Boldt, 1998; Drug

Courts Program Office, 1997; Senjo & Leip, 2001)

 Drug courts helps to reduce recidivism among non-violent drug offenders.

 Drug courts incorporates restorative programs for these offenders.

Drug court programs require participants to navigate through different stages of

treatment that become progressively less intensive as they progress. These programs vary in

design, but most use a similar, basic design. Typically, drug court programs offer a multitude of

services and mandate at least a year of treatment before the participants are eligible to graduate.

These services generally include court hearings, urinalysis drug testing, attending outpatient

treatment or counseling, and frequent participation in Narcotics Anonymous or other support

group meetings. Typically, the drug court model utilizes graduated rewards and sanctions to

assist offenders in becoming more accountable. This strategy also encourages increased retention

rates in drug court programming. Drug courts are a positive solution to non-violent drug

offenders.
 References

Messer, Sarah et al. (2016, Mar 1).Vol. 43 Issue 1, p6-24. 19p.

Contemporary Drug Problems

Messer, S., Patten, R., & Candela, K. (2016). Drug courts and the facilitation of turning points.

Contemporary Drug Problems, 43(1), 6-24. doi:10.1177/0091450916632545

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/288951455

Senjo, Scott, & Leip, Lesile A(2001).Testing therapeutic Jurisprudence Theory: An Empirical

Assessment of the Drug Court Process, Western Criminology Review,3(1)