Pubdate: Mon, 28 May 2001
Source: Times-News, The (ID)
Copyright: 2001 Magic Valley Newspapers
Contact:  http://www.magicvalley.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/595
Author: Joseph J. Kalange
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts)
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n878/a04.html

DRUG COURT WON'T STOP ADDICTIONS

This letter is written in response to the May 15 editorial regarding the 
local drug court and how it might stop addiction.

The editorial claims that the drug court will "break the cycle of 
addiction," which is seen as a cause of most of the crime in the Magic 
Valley. They also claim that a drug court will save taxpayers money.

These claims are unfounded. The drug court will most likely not stop the 
cycle of addiction. In fact, most addicts admitted to front-end strategies 
such as "rehabilitation" end up relapsing and eventually ending up back in 
the court system. Case in point: Robert Downey Jr., the award-winning 
actor, is in court once again on charges of drug possession. He can't seem 
to successfully fight his addiction, even though he's been to many drug 
treatment programs.

No spouse, child, job or even court-ordered drug rehabilitation program can 
be successful until an addict decides for himself or herself to stop. You 
cannot force anyone to halt a drug addiction.

The drug court will probably not save taxpayers money either. Taxpayers 
will still end up paying for incarceration, since drug treatment is usually 
unsuccessful. Plus, the community will have to bear the tax burden a 
special judge, staff and venue devoted to the task of eradicating addiction 
will create. I bet it would be enlightening to find out what percentage of 
people admitted to court-mandated drug treatment programs end up back in 
front of a judge.

If you want to stop crime resulting from drug abuse, you have to throw 
offenders in jail. Those who beat their spouses, neglect their children and 
steal obviously deserve to be incarcerated, as it is no one's privilege to 
violate the rights of others. Let's not spend money on a frivolous campaign 
like the drug court. It will not be able to correct morality, nor will it 
save taxpayers money.

JOSEPH J. KALANGE

Twin Falls
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