Thread by @MyHarmReduction

Drug courts are not:
- an "alternative to incarceration;"
- a substitute for all drug decriminalization;
- a panacea; or
- a "public health" approach.

I was a drug court representative for years. I know.

A THREAD 🧵🧵🧵....

1. Drug courts cherry-pick their participants so few are eligible. Most have very strict criteria (first-timer, no mental illness, no felonies, no violent charges, etc.) so people with most severe problems who arguably have most to gain are usually INELIGIBLE for services.

2. Judges and non-clinical team members can weigh in on treatment decisions. Drug courts have a terrible track record when it comes to medications like methadone and buprenorphine. A judge can say you need a weekend in jail after your most recent relapse to "teach you a lesson."

3. You have to plead guilty in order to join drug court. This is not pre-arrest diversion or decriminalization. It is criminalization AND treatment. If you finish drug court, you might get your initial charge expunged. If you don’t complete it, you may get sent to jail/prison.

4. Sometimes drug courts take longer than just serving time in jail. Average drug court participants may be in it for 6 months to a year or LONGER. Sometimes this is longer than if you served your time. During program, the court may tell you where you can live, work, & go.

5. Your old or prior charges remain. At best, you may expunge current charge. But it does not expunge previous charges you had from before. So it is not cleaning your slate. You may still face barriers due to your record with housing, benefits, jobs, voting, etc.

6. Question anyone who tells you "drug courts work" and ask them "compared to what?" Because often drug courts "work" because they are the only way one got secure housing, treatment, and case management. Maybe drug courts are a way to bypass a broken system built for failure.

7. We must ask ourselves why, only through a court mandate, was there all-of-a-sudden an available spot at a treatment facility in town? That you got the last bed at the halfway house? That someone checked up on you weekly? THESE ARE SIGNS OF A BROKEN SYSTEM.

8. Why couldn't I have just gotten these needs met anyway? Why did I need to get arrested, plead guilty, sign up for a 12-month drug court commitment, and jump through hoops to get the things I needed for my health, recovery, and wellness all along?!?!

9. Our president-elect supports drug courts. He thinks no one should go to jail for drugs and they should get treatment instead. But here's the thing. Not everyone needs treatment at first (or ever). Some people just need food. Housing. Employment. Family. Sterile syringes.

10. Sure, drug courts have saved lives. I'm not saying they haven't. But I bet you that 10 times out of 10, it was the access to support and services INSTEAD of jail, rather than support and services with the THREAT of jail. We can do that without the courts altogether w/ decrim.