Drug Treatment Court coming

Chief Justice Satnarine Sharma said yesterday that the lethal combination of AIDS and drugs has already wiped out generations of our youth and its devastating effect would continue, and unless controlled and checked, entire societies would disappear. The CJ was speaking at the opening of a training programme on the operations of the Drug Treatment Court. The Judiciary is in the process of examining the feasibility of piloting a Drug Treatment Court in Trinidad and Tobago. CJ Sharma commended Justice Paul Bentley and a team from the Toronto Drug Treatment Court for their assistance in providing the necessary training. The first drug treatment court was set up in the United States and later introduced to Canada.

The drug treatment programme provides court-supervised treatment for people addicted to cocaine and/or opiates. Non-violent offenders charged with possession of, or trafficking in, small quantities of crack/cocaine or heroin, or with prostitution-related offences, would be eligible to participate in the programme. Rather than incarceration, offenders would receive non-custodial sentences on successful completion of the programme. According to the CJ, by keeping people in treatment, the programme would aim to reduce relapse rates for substance abuse and related criminal behaviour, and improve social stability.

Justice Bentley of the Ontario Court of Justice, who also addressed the training programme, said that while the Drug Treatment Court was not a magic bullet that would solve all substance abuse problems in our communities, it appeared to offer an effective alternative to the traditional approach of incarceration for many individuals who were drug dependent. He added that the court was a model that might provide success at a lower cost than the traditional justice system and may prove to be the most cost efficient method to reduce substance abuse and the criminality it bred. The training programme ends today.