Drug court helps 70 addicts into recovery
(CNS): Three men and one woman brought the total of people helped on the road to recovery by the Drug Court over the last five years to 70 when they graduated from the rehabilitation programme on Tuesday. The four non-violent offenders had all faced various criminal charges that brought the four individuals to the court in the first place but they were all dismissed by the chief magistrate as she congratulated them on their achievement at the 8th graduation the court has held. Alongside the awards, the four graduates were given gifts from the local Rotary clubs who sponsored the programme as well as the latest Blackberry phones from Digicel.
The three men and one woman who wished to retain their anonymity had faced charges relating to possession of cocaine, ganja consumption and possession and even theft and burglary. However, by passing through the rehabilitation programme the graduates' slates were wiped clean and they escaped convictions for those crimes by tackling their drug and alcohol problems, which were seen as the cause of their crimes.
The Drug Rehabilitation Court started in October 2007 and signalled a new approach to dealing with offenders with substance abuse problems in the criminal justice system. The aim of the DRC is to stop drug abuse and the associated crime with court-directed treatment and rehabilitation.
All of the graduates spoke about their gratitude for the programme and the help they had received to get clean and begin the road to recovery. One noted that the treatment-based programmes not only helped with the direct problem of drug misuse but the underlying cause of why she had turned to drugs.
Speaking about the programme’s success so far, the DRC co-ordinator Catherine Guilbard said the alternative court worked and to see 70 people helped by the programme since it started five years ago was a “remarkable achievement” for a small jurisdiction. She pointed to the combination of agencies involved in the rehab programme and described it as a team approached to a challenging situation.
Chief Magistrate Nova Hall commended the graduates for their achievement. “We provided the tools, but you did the work. You could not have reached this stage without your own efforts.”
A former graduate of the programme and a guest speaker for the graduation, Sidney Parchment, told the latest individuals that there would be challenges ahead but having been clean for almost three years, he said, “A life of sobriety is a lot easier than one of addiction.”
Category: Crime
Alcoholism is a disease of the mind,body, and spirit. For someone to admit that they have a problem and try to take the steps to change their way of life is truly courageous. We should encourage them rather than tear them down. Would you rather them still be out there drinking? That’s all.
Why does everyone have to be so hateful? These people are obviously trying to improve their lives. If they had all been thrown in prison you all would be complaining about the cost to society to house them. Apparently there is no easy solution to the drug problem. But this is a beginning.
And the victims of the crimes committed by these addicts got the bill?
This is really so very sad, a get out of jail free card is what the Caribbean Haven and Drug Court is all about. I as a taxpayer who does not agree at all to spend/waste money on these people/waste of space. They "graduate" and are right back out on the street the same night in some cases.
I would rather my money went to taking care of the elderly and those families who have family members who are mentally, physically or treminally ill. Not dtug users who CHOOSE to make their lives hard. Let me help people who REALLY need HELP……..
I bet if these druggies were made to work off all debts to sociaity instead of just having to show up and sign a piece of paper saying they attended a meeting and piss in a cup and bam, all charges wiped clean off their police recoreds just to return and rack up another "hit" record.
It is cheaper than sending them to prison, where they further develop their habit, but if that is what you would rather your tax dollars are spent on then it is too bad there is not a moron rehabilitation centre we can send you to.
So let me get this straight …. drug rehabilitation will never have a 100 per cent success rate and at best, it would be lucky to achieve 50 per cent.
Anything over than this would just be an attendance course and not worth the paper or effort provided.Whatever the method, the result is a new blackberry or other shiny baubles.
If 70 'candidates' were successfull, that means there could be over 140 drug addicts on the program, equating to 1 per cent of the voting population.
These are the known addicts, there could easily be the same number again in the community entitled to vote.
I am beginning to understand how the political end result may have been achieved.
A percentage of the voters have been bought off with fridges, turtle meat, paving, etc.
A percentage of the voters are related to the candidate / candidates.
A percentage of the voters are drug addicts and come voting day, may all have used up their best Crack cocaine.
It gives me a good idea of how we have arrived at the current political circus!
So all 70 of these people are certified clean over a prolonged period of time, following repeated and random drug testing, or they just graduated from the rehabilitation program (like kids used to graduate from school simply through attendance)?
Enquiring minds would like to know…
This article just gave me an idea…yep, Might as well I get into drugs and alcohol, cause I can steal, burglarize etc and get gifts and even the latest free phone etc and have all my criminal charges dismissed. Yep, being an alcoholic and consuming drugs do has its merits…pathetic!!
You might want to get on your knees and thank your lucky stars that you never have had to be in a position where you might gain a material incentive for simply living a normal, law-abiding life.
Nothing about addiction makes sense, and it is a life of misery. Those who try to make it "clean and sober" face a mountain of barriers, including their own shame and the attitudes of people unwilling to lend a helping hand and more than willing to judge a path they haven't walked.
As an employee of one of the agencies involved in the Drug Rehabilitation Court, I can guarantee that this is not a feel-good programme that rewards bad behaviour. The approach is firm but compassionate. Not everyone graduates, but those who do deserve the respect they have earned.
I wish I could shake your hand and give you a hug. As the parent of someone who is a recovering addict I see the tears he sheds and I feel the pain he feels. God loves us all, even addicts and we have fallible humans have no right to judge,.