There are currently 533 drug courts currently operating throughout the country, with an additional 293 courts being planned. Drug courts are as much about fighting crime as they are about reducing illegal drugs. It is no secret that there is a strong link between drugs and crime. This task is made more difficult by the fact that the root problem is a chronic, relapsing condition - addiction. Let me let you in on a little secret - if we just lock these folks up and don't treat them, they are going to commit crimes again and again and again.
Treatment helps to break that escalating cycle of drug-related criminal behavior.
To date, nearly 200,000 people have entered drug court programs and the results have been impressive. About 70 percent of the drug court program participants have either stayed in the program or completed it successfully. That is more than twice the retention rate of most traditional treatment programs. The other 30 percent of the participants went to jail. And I think that should be heralded as a success of the drug court program as well.