When Circuit Court Judge William Acree, Jr., of Union City took the lead to establish a drug court in his rural 27th Judicial District, marijuana and cocaine users were the impetus. Now, less than two years later, he said meth is the leading drug of choice for defendants accepted into the program.
"When we started, we'd heard of meth, but that was about it," Acree said. "Today, 37 percent of those in our program are involved with meth. In about a third of the cases, the drug is cocaine."
To learn how drug courts across the nation are dealing with the methamphetamine explosion and how his program might be improved, Acree is attending Drug Court Judicial Training this week at the National Judicial College in Nevada. His tuition and expenses for the National Drug Court Institute course are covered by a scholarship from the State Justice Institute.
"I want to see if there are things we need to be doing differently and get some different ideas," Acree said.
Acree said about 30 convicted felons are in the 27th Judicial District program now. To be successful, participants go through a step process, which involves staying "clean and sober." They visit a treatment provider four days a week during the first phase and, if they do well, the number of visits gradually decreases. Additionally, they have to appear in court one day a week so the judge can determine for himself whether they are in compliance with the rules.
"We don't put them on judicial diversion," Acree said. "We've got all kinds of people in our program. We don't cherry pick them."
Acree and a drug court team, including a general sessions judge, the district attorney, a public defender, the sheriffs of Obion and Weakley counties, a probation representive and treatment providers, meet weekly to review each case to "see if anyone has messed up."
"If they have, there are appropriate sanctions. If not, we applaud them," he said.
The program has had five graduates, with more anticipated, he said. If nothing else, Acree said drug courts and accompanying treatment are far more cost-effective than sending them to prison - about $9 per day for participants in his program compared to about $50 per day for prison inmates.
"We're tickled to death with our program," he said.