Worcester County Drug Court Honored for Innovative Efforts
Court to hold open house and luncheon May 23

(ANNAPOLIS, MD — May 19, 2006) The Drug Treatment Court Commission of Maryland has designated the Worcester County Drug Court the state’s Most Innovative Drug Court Campaign. Chief Judge Ben C. Clyburn of the District Court of Maryland will present the drug court with an award during an open house and luncheon to be held from noon to 1:30 on Tuesday, May 23, at the Worcester County Jail, 5022 Joyner Road, Snow Hill.

The drug court offers an unusual, collaborative effort between the District Court and the Circuit Court for Worcester County, offering drug treatment court programs for adult and juvenile offenders. Since the courts were started in December, the planners have launched a six-month awareness campaign to introduce the drug courts to the community. In addition to distributing water at a marathon in Ocean City in April, court planners and participants will participate in a series of public events, including a community clean-up, National Night Out, and a recovery walk.

“In just a few months, the Worcester County courts have demonstrated to the state the importance of introducing a drug court to the community it serves,” said Gray Barton, executive director of the Drug Treatment Court Commission. “By developing creative ways to involve the drug courts in the community, the courts are attracting exceptional – and exemplary – community support which is so integral to helping our drug court participants change their lives.”

Drug courts provide intensive treatment, supervision, and comprehensive judicial monitoring to habitual offenders whose crimes are addiction-driven. Nationally drug court programs have emerged as a practical, cost-effective alternative to incarceration, and re-arrest rates for drug court graduates are significantly lower than for the general population.

“In the 1980s our society began the ‘War on Drugs’ with a zero tolerance policy, filling our jails with petty drug users,” said Worcester County District Judge Gerald V. Purnell, who is handling cases in the adult drug court. “Clearly the ‘War on Drugs’ has not worked, and as a result our court system is taking a fresh approach to the drug problem that is pervasive in our society. That fresh approach is the drug treatment court.”

Five participants are enrolled in the adult drug court, with five enrolled in the juvenile drug court.

“Our juvenile drug court has been very successful in helping these young people get off drugs,” said Worcester County Circuit Judge Thomas Clay Groton, III, who is handling juvenile drug court cases. “It has been a very rewarding experience for me to see them succeed and gain confidence in themselves.”

Maryland has 30 established drug courts, and six more in the planning stages.

For more information, or to cover this event, please contact the Court Information Office at (410) 260-1488. The luncheon is not open to the public, but media are welcome.

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