Drug Court And Why It Works

What is Drug Court

Drug court is a superior court that is responsible for handling cases involving substance-abusing offenders through comprehensive supervision, drug testing, treatment services, and immediate sanctions and incentives. Drug court judges differ from a regular judge in that they have had special training in handling individuals suffering from substance use disorder and understand addiction. This allows for a judicial process outside of crime. The judge is involved with the individual from beginning through graduation of the program, assessing and addressing underlying issues contributing to addiction and addiction behavior while determining an appropriate drug rehabilitation level and monitoring.

Drug court individuals have access to different types of addiction treatment services, including:

• Residential addiction treatment
• Intensive therapy
• Outpatient group or individual therapy
• Drug education
• 12-step facilitation program
• Relapse prevention

These options may be entirely available or available in part depending on the drug court’s location and proximity to treatment services.

The Goal of the Drug Court

The goal of drug court is to help people regain control of their lives and involvement within society. Drug courts show lower recidivism rates (re-arrests) and significantly lower costs. For many people, they credit sobriety and their lives to a drug court program. It is a chance to get proper treatment and attention to recovery without being incarcerated. These programs work for many who use the incentive to stay out of jail as an essential motivator to get sober and find treatment. The courts give people access to evidence-based addiction treatment and substance use treatments that recognize individuals in these programs benefit from sobriety and are not a form of punishment.

Northlake Behavioral Health System works with the drug courts of Louisiana. If you or a loved one is seeking substance use support or addiction treatment please contact our admissions department for more information at 985.626.6300.