How America overdosed on drug courts

Drug courts embolden judges to practice medicine without a license—and they put lives in danger
Pacific Standard (US)
Monday, May 18, 2015

drug-courtDrug courts celebrated their 25th anniversary last year. Hailed as the most compassionate way for the criminal justice system to deal with addicts, drug courts were designed to balance punishment with rehabilitation. Many drug court judges oppose opioid maintenance and require patients to become completely abstinent as a condition of participation or graduation. They believe that maintenance simply amounts to swapping one drug addiction for another. This critique betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of opioid pharmacology and addictive behavior.