Terrebonne and Lafourche officials welcome expansion of state's drug courts

Jun. 13—After getting rattled by the pandemic, local drug court officials are hopeful that a measure expanding specialty courts with money from opioid-related lawsuits will give their programs a much-needed boost.

The measure allows money recovered from lawsuits or settlements against the opioid industry to be used to expand drug courts across Louisiana. The bill won unanimous support from the state House and Senate and is now awaiting the governor's signature.

State Attorney General Jeff Landry will distribute the money through grant awards, the Associated Press reported.

"Drug and specialty courts hold people accountable and connect them to evidence-based treatment — something that protects public safety and promotes public health," Landry said.

For Terrebonne Drug Court Coordinator Danny Smith, the bill couldn't have come at a more crucial time.

"Drug courts across the state have really been suffering from lack of participation because the number of drug arrests has gone down," Smith said. "So when I read about this new legislation I thought it was going to increase our numbers tremendously. Also, the pandemic is winding down, so our numbers are starting to build back up again. It's obviously good news for us for sure."

Though the pandemic has caused a decline in drug court participation, drug abuse is higher than ever, Lafourche Drug Court Treatment Director Elrick Nelson said.

"With COVID we need funding more than ever," he said. "There are so many people who feel pretty isolated still. With the lockdowns and people not being able to get out, a lot of individuals turned to drugs and alcohol as a means of coping. So I think this funding is really going to be beneficial."

Nelson said he is hopeful the new legislation will also alleviate increased costs.

"We've had budget cuts over the past several years as our costs continually increased," he said. "People here do their jobs and enjoy what they do. They want to help people. But my concern is, how can I hold on to them when I haven't been able to give any raises in three or four years? I'm looking forward to see how this funding is going to come into play."

About 1,720 Louisianans died from overdoses from July 2019 to July 2020, according to the Centers from Disease Control and Prevention. That total is 53% more than the number that died during the same time period the year before.

Drug court diverts nonviolent offenders from the traditional court system into one geared toward treating drug problems, including addiction, that landed them in trouble in the first place, Smith said.

Currently there are 54 participants enrolled in Terrebonne's Drug Court. Before COVID-19 there were over 100, Smith said. Since 2016, 333 people have participated in the program and 118 have graduated.

"The others either went AWOL, were revoked or they just gave up," he said.

Though many participants enroll in drug court to get out of serving jail time, they quickly learn the program is anything but a walk in the park, Smith said.

"As soon as they're arrested people will say they want drug court so they can get out of jail," he said. "When they get into the program they are the ones that have to decide if they want to change their lives and no longer want to be an addict. That's easier said than done. You have to walk the walk and that can be very difficult. Sometimes it takes people up to three years to graduate."

Lafourche's Drug Court currently has 81 participants, Nelson said. There have been 246 participants since 2016, 88 of whom have graduated from the program. Of those 88 graduates, only nine have been arrested again.

"It's a lot of work, but it has to be a lifestyle change," Nelson said. "Our job is to take that broken person and put them back together."

Drug courts take aim at the root causes of drug addition, Smith said.

"People are not taking drugs simply because they want to become an addict," he said. "Addiction can hit anybody, rich or poor. The root causes we try to help with are poverty, mental health issues, physical issues, unemployment, housing and transportation. Those are the types of things we try to help them with."

Terrebonne Drug Court Director Clarence McGuire said part of the program's success stems from the mentorship offered by those who graduated.

"We have folks who graduated from this program who are now employed," he said. "They show the participants that life can be different. They say, 'If they can do it I can definitely do it also.' Once they truly want it, we can grab hold of that."

—Staff Writer Dan Copp can be reached at 448-7639 or at dan.copp@houmatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanVCopp.

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