Speaker relates drug program
by Chris Wolfe, reporter

    A local drug court manager spoke to A Positive Today (APT) last week on NE Campus.

   Mark Jennings talked about the Drug Impact Rehabilitation Enhanced Comprehensive Treatment (DIRECT) Drug Court Program.

   The program deals with people who have been arrested for non-violent drug-related cases and is designed to keep people from being prosecuted by freeing them from the addiction.

   The program lasts 12-18 months, getting less demanding as the individual passes through the four phases, Jennings said.

   Once the program has been completed, the case against the defendant is dropped. If the defendant is unable to stay off drugs, severe punishment will occur.

   “In the end, we will have sent this person to a penitentiary or turned his life around,” he said.

   The program contains a 10- level system for determining the severity of the case.

   Four to seven ratings are the most common cases and is what the Drug Court Program spends most of its time dealing with.

   These people have an addiction but want to do something about it.

   Eight to 10 are usually beyond help, Jennings said.

   “Twenty percent of people will not change,” he said.

   DIRECT Drug Court is based in Fort Worth and operates throughout Tarrant County. For more information on Drug Court, call 817-884-3276.

   APT is a student organization sponsored by the mental health department.

   For more information, e-mail David-Vickye@juno.com.