Incarceration can work for drug offenders by providing them with the opportunity to detox from drugs. It can work as a deterrent by subjecting them to the stressful, anxiety-producing experience of incarceration. And it can work by coercing them to enter and complete rehabilitation. The use of extended periods of incarceration, however, does not appear to increase the value of incarceration and may in fact be counterproductive to sentencing goals. In a drug court, there are immediate and direct consequences for all conduct.
Sanctions follow violations and are applied as close to the time of failure as possible.
This calls for frequent court hearings to monitor the offender and mete out sanctions. In many drug courts, less serious violations, such as inadequate participation in a court-ordered program, call for sanctions that start with the intensification of supervision, treatment, or a day's incarceration. Diversion and other Incentives. Drug rehabilitation is at best a difficult, demanding, and lengthy process. To motivate offenders to complete the process, drug courts offer them substantial positive incentives to do so.