![Drug court: Closeup under night streetlighting of policeperson in dark uniform handcuffing a suspect in gray sweatshirt](https://jjie.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/NEWS_2023.03.17_Drug-Court_Gorodenkoff-shutterstock_2232056691-140x140.jpg)
‘We can’t incarcerate our way out of the problem’: Why some judges favor drug courts’ treatment-based approach
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Charged with possession and use of marijuana and cocaine, destruction of property, disorderly conduct and assaulting a police officer, John stood before a juvenile court judge imagining that he’d be sentenced to years of incarceration. Instead, the judge sent him to drug court, a 15-month program providing medical treatment for substance abuse; psychological counseling; mediation and relationship-building services for substance abusers’ families; and assistance seeking education and employment.