UNITE Pike

Drug Court

 Kentucky Drug Court 

Drug Court is a shining example of Kentucky’s success in specialty courts. Instead of spending time in jail, eligible participants complete a substance abuse program supervised by a judge. Drug Court graduates are more likely to return to productive lives and stay gainfully employed, pay child support and meet other obligations.

 As Drug Court moves into its second decade, the program's solid track record has convinced leaders in state government, along with local judges, prosecutors and treatment providers, that Drug Court is an essential part of the Kentucky court system.

 Since the mid-1980s, court dockets across the nation have become overloaded with drug cases and drug-involved offenders. While incarceration removes individuals from their drug-abusing lifestyles for a period of time, addicts who don't receive treatment, education and life-skills training often return to the same cycle of drug use and criminal activity.

 Drug Court helps combat those problems through a supervised program that successfully combines a strong treatment component with the legal weight of law enforcement.

 Substance abuse treatment reduces both addiction and drug-related crime. In addition, Drug Court provides alternative services for about 25 percent of the cost of incarceration.

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