Yes, drug courts cost Jackson County. Not helping addicts is much more expensive

Recently, there has been some discussion in Jackson County about the expense of drug courts and prosecuting only violent crimes that stem from drug use, while not referring other cases to drug court for prosecution or sentencing. There are several logical errors made with this thinking, and I would like to present some alternate ideas and arguments here.

First, let’s admit that drug courts do cost society in the short term. Incarceration is even more expensive. Studies have found savings of several thousand dollars per year when a person is sentenced to drug court instead of being incarcerated. In addition, drug laws are notoriously skewed against minorities and the poor, and have been a way of providing a large income system for society at the expense of these populations. However, drug courts are often a resource that individuals with addiction can be offered to help lead them into recovery by giving them additional incentives.

While the immediate costs of drug courts are obvious, what the Jackson County prosecutor is ignoring is the implicit cost of removing the supports that the courts can provide. While most minor drug use is not associated with violent crime or crime against others, that is not to say it will remain that way. Addiction is a progressive disease, and untreated substance abuse increases over time, creating a demand for more money to feed it, along with increased desperation to meet that need. To say that we will only incarcerate serious offenders and remove the potential help we could provide others is a bit like a doctor saying she will no longer treat minor infections and will only be seeing patients who need amputations. You can expect that number to rise as the untreated disease worsens.

The prosecutor is also failing to take into consideration the long-term costs to society of people not being offered incentivized treatment. Children who see parents recover become more resilient, are less likely to be incarcerated themselves, and are more likely to pursue their own goals with a sense of possibility. Families where recovery is offered and accepted become more financially sound and rely less on society for support. In families where recovery takes hold, social services are not needed as frequently and less stress is put on a system that is already overburdened and underfunded.

Individuals who recover from addictions are much more likely to gain stable employment, take better care of their health and rely less on hospitals in urgent situations when they don’t have insurance or money to see the family doctor. These are all costs passed on to taxpayers that far outweigh the money spent on drug courts over the years. Significant research indicates that society saves in the long term when it provides a solid treatment model for addictions.

I want to be clear that as a professional in the mental health and addictions field, I am not advocating for additional criminalization of drugs. What I am advocating for is a decriminalization that would allow for those struggling with addiction and the underlying trauma that always accompanies it to receive treatment. Without the incentive of potential jail time, many of the clients I have treated would not have taken their program seriously. In all honesty, some still will not.

The most effective drug court programs offer the addict several opportunities, because relapse is a part of the recovery process. Recovery is a marathon, and when we fall, we get back up and keep running. The accountability that drug courts enforce does work, if we build those programs with a model based less on judgment and more on compassion. To take away that opportunity is not simply lacking in empathy — it is not good financial decision-making.

I would welcome the opportunity to speak with the prosecutor and provide research along these lines.

Robert Cox is executive director of the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Tristn Jevon Center For Recovery, which is dedicated to bringing mental health services to underserved rural areas of Missouri. It has offices in Liberty and Richmond.

This story was originally published September 2, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Yes, drug courts cost Jackson County. Not helping addicts is much more expensive."