LOCAL DRUG, ALCOHOL TREATMENT OPTIONS NEEDED

The war on drugs has brought with it unintended casualties -- the most
glaring being more lives are ruined than are changed.

The effort to take a hard stance against drugs was -- and still is -- well
intended, but the movement placed a premium on incarceration while
virtually ignoring treatment.

Almost every person arrested on drug charges eventually gets out of jail,
and based on the high recidivism rates for drug offenders, many return to
their past actions.

When treatment is an option, the drug problem is addressed at its root.
When incarceration is the only alternative, the inevitable is merely delayed.

Fortunately, the local prevention and judicial community has begun to
understand the importance of treatment. The Daviess County Drug Court has
grown significantly over the last two years, and by all accounts, is having
a positive impact on the community.

Earlier this year, a group of 10 people announced plans to start a similar
program for juveniles. That program will be designed for teen-agers between
the ages of 13 and 17 who are charged with nonviolent offenses related to
drugs, alcohol or tobacco.

Those admitted, rather than being sent to a detention center, will be
required to complete a minimum nine-month treatment program. The importance
of the program can be measured by looking at both the local teen drug and
alcohol data as well as what happens to teen-agers who are incarcerated.

As many as seven out of every 10 juveniles who spend time in a detention
center will end up behind bars again at some point in their lives,
according to national studies of recidivism rates.

But the problem locally will be -- in large part because of the lack of
attention paid to treatment in past years -- having enough treatment
options available to make the juvenile drug court a success. The results
achieved from drugs courts have been predicated on treatment. Remove
adequate treatment from the equation, and optimal results will be, if not
impossible, extremely improbable.

As Messenger-Inquirer reporter Justin Willis reported Sunday, the closest
detoxification or rehabilitation centers available for adolescents are in
Evansville, Louisville and Nashville. One of the biggest barriers to
successful treatment is getting a person to realize they need help and
getting them started in a program. With no local options, taking that first
step is made even more difficult.

We don't pretend to know what the solution is, whether it's expanding
existing adult programs to include juveniles, or looking at new programs.
But it's an area that deserves attention. Consider that a recent local
study showed that 28 percent of teen-agers say they have at least
experimented with marijuana, and 50 percent say they have tried alcohol.

Efforts to address the local drug problem -- both at the adult and juvenile
level -- have gained substantial momentum in recent years. For that
momentum to continue, it will be imperative that efforts are made to ensure
proper treatment is available.