Drug Court Reform

Before January, Judge Wendell P. Gardner Jr. had never been hugged by a defendant. But he had to get into a different mindset when he took over as the District of Columbia's adult-drug-court judge at the beginning of the year. Now, each month when nonviolent drug offenders "graduate" from the five to 18 months of judge-supervised treatment, he steps off the bench and interacts with the users he helps keep out of jail. For the George H.W. Bush appointee, drug courts are not about politics, they are about treatment and results. "You get a sense you're really helping someone," he says.

Personally I support rehab over jail idea because I know a lot of people who are ex users who are in the NA and AA and they really aren't the type of people who need to be in jail. It seems like theres more justice in that system because non-violent drug abusers aren't dangerous they just have drug problems, they aren't a danger to society or those around them. The statistics show that going to jail does not keep you sober and you have a higher chance of sobriety in rehab.