AHS Views

A drug rehab court is given the responsibility to handle cases involving substance-abusing offenders through supervision, drug testing, drug rehab services and immediate sanctions and incentives. There are approximately 1,800 drug rehab courts in existence or being planned.

Drug rehab courts typically deal with non-violent drug offenders, with charges such as possession of an illegal substance. The design and structure of drug court programs are developed within each participating community to address specific needs. A drug rehab court allows the community to address multiple factors in each drug abusing case, not just the addiction itself. Through an extensive rehab, education, participation and monitoring period, additional issues such as unemployment and child support can be addressed.

Multiple studies have been conducted regarding the effectiveness of drug rehab court systems as a form of community sentencing, and the retention and overall success rates have been very favorable, especially when compared to the results of incarceration.

In addition to being socially successful, drug rehab courts are also very cost-effective to the community. Whereas incarcerating a drug-using offender may cost between $20,000 and $50,000 per person, per year, a comprehensive drug court system costs about one tenth of that, plus the cost of a drug rehab program.

A recent analysis was done in a section of New Jersey on the cost of dealing with non-violent drug-using offenders, and they found that for every dollar spent on drug rehab courts, ten dollars were saved from the correctional system.