May Recognized as National Drug Court Month

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody is recognizing National Drug Court Month by highlighting the uses and benefits of drug courts. Drug courts are specialized problem-solving courts that assist participants recovering from drug addiction while reducing future criminal activity and can sometimes provide an alternative to incarceration. Drug courts promote rehabilitation through a court-supervised process, all while incentivizing a defendant to stay drug-free.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “As a former judge, I saw every day the damage to lives and communities from drug and opioid abuse. Drug courts are an important component in our fight to end the deadly opioid epidemic claiming thousands of Floridians’ lives, and I thank the judges who are highly trained in addiction and who, many times, volunteer for these posts. By continuing to examine ways to reduce crime and improve our justice system, we will build a Stronger, Safer Florida.”

Earlier this month, Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet signed a resolution recognizing National Drug Court Month. According to the resolution, Florida created the first drug court in the nation in 1989 and serves as a model for the drug courts currently operating throughout the state, nation and other countries.

Drug courts combine intensive judicial supervision, mandatory substance-abuse treatment and drug testing with escalating sanctions and incentives in order to break the cycle of drug addiction and concomitant crime, giving participants a chance to be productive, law-abiding members of society. This program not only helps users recover but can also save the state substantial taxpayer dollars by reducing the number of incarcerated defendants.

To read the full resolution, click here.

As of September 2020, Florida has 95 drug courts in operation, including 56 adult courts, 20 juvenile courts, 13 dependency courts, four DUI courts, one Marchman Act court and one domestic violence court.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the criminal justice system is the single-largest source of referral-to-substance use disorder treatment, second only to self-referral.

To help Floridians join in the fight to end the opioid crisis, Attorney General Moody created Dose of Reality Florida, a comprehensive resource to help educate Floridians about the dangers of misusing prescription painkillers and other opioids such as heroin and fentanyl. Dose of Reality Florida contains information about opioid abuse and year-round prescription drug drop-off locations. To learn more, click here.