Colorado’s young people rank among the top 10 states with the highest rates of illicit drug use in the past month, cocaine use in the last year, and have the least perception of risk associated with having five or more drinks once or twice a week.
Leading the charge in Colorado, particularly during the months between November and April, is Summit County. Each ski season, young, single seasonal workers and vacationers from around the world ascend the hill to “Colorado’s Playground” to spend a week or a season letting loose and getting high.
Breckenridge revels in its reputation as the skiing world’s best party town. For the people who live there and raise kids there, it can be a challenge to promote a healthy lifestyle regarding drug and alcohol use when getting messed up is ubiquitous and nearly normalized.
As a result, alcohol and drugs find their way into the high school — and not just marijuana, but hard drugs like cocaine, LSD, ecstasy and more. In a small informal poll of the high school students I work with, I was told that the drugs that end up in our students’ hands come from young men and women who move here to exploit the winter market.
A lot of people come to Summit County for a year or two to “live the lifestyle,” and while they’re at it, more than a few overdo it.
When they do, they often end up in jail. If the initial arrest doesn’t scare them and they continue to engage in the addictive use, they usually end up in front of the judge again. Some get to go the drug court route. Still others sit in jail because of a lack of resources.
Drug court seeks to treat the addiction to reduce the crime and rehabilitate the criminal. It is an alternative to prison. Currently, there are more than 2,500 drug courts in the U.S., including 24 in Colorado.
There are eight participants in the year-old Summit County drug court. For all eight of the young men, it is literally their last stop before prison. To participate in drug court, they have to volunteer to do so, be a resident of Summit County, and meet the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual criteria for chemical dependency. Sex or violent offenders are not admitted.
Drug court is necessarily difficult and demanding. Participants are in the program for 18 to 24 months. They receive sanctions that range from a verbal reprimand to jail or termination from drug court, depending on the seriousness, and incentives for compliance. They are rewarded immediately for good behavior. They work in the community in regular jobs, go to therapy up to as much as twice a day, meet their probation officer at least once a week, and are tested for drugs and alcohol randomly, leaving time for little else.
Good behavior means 100 percent compliance in the two weeks between drug court sessions. The eight young men in drug court are held accountable by the drug court team in four areas: participation, probation, drug testing, and therapy.
Trey Anastasio of the band Phish, a drug court graduate and now a national spokesperson, said, “When I was in it, it was very hard and I was not a huge fan.” Now, he credits drug court for giving him his life back. He even wrote a thank you note to his arresting officer.
The Summit County drug court team is made up of the judge, the district attorney, a probation officer, a public defender, someone from the sheriff’s department, and a representative from the treatment facility. “It’s a collaborative effort. Everyone plays such an integral part,” said drug court Judge Karen Romeo.
Nationally, drug courts are being billed as the most sensible and proven alternative to incarceration. Addiction is a disease that can be linked to crime. Treat the disease and reduce the crime.
Drug use drives 80 percent of crimes in the United States. On top of that, perpetrators are involved in drug use in more than 50 percent of violent crimes, up to 80 percent of child abuse and neglect cases, and up to 79 percent of theft and property crimes. Colorado numbers are higher than the national average.
Mark Hurlbert, district attorney for Colorado’s 5th Judicial District, which includes Summit County, says, “There is a misconception that we convict people for some minor drug violation and send them away for long time. The saying is ‘people earn their way to prison.’ Generally they’ve committed a heinous crime, and very few of the people we send to prison don’t have a drug or alcohol problem.”
Upon release, 68 percent of criminals are re-arrested within three years and 95 percent of prisoners known to be substance abusers relapse within those same three years. Compare this to drug court graduates, where 75 percent are never cuffed again. “In this way, we are preventing future criminals and future victims,” said Hurlbert.
Treatment doesn’t appear to be sufficient on its own, either. Ninety percent of users who are referred to treatment alone drop out within 12 months.
“Incarceration is definitely necessary for some people, but drug addicts, if they don’t get the help they need, will be out on the street with the same problem,” said Judge Romeo.
Drug court offers intense supervision combined with treatments; participants are often monitored electronically during the day and night. It is the highest level of accountability available while they are still in the community.
“Sobriety is the most important thing,” said Romeo. “Honesty is number two.” When they start the program; participants are given a “courage stone.” When they begin phase two, they receive a “trust stone.”
Drug court has been proven to save money as well. Drug courts produce cost savings ranging from $4,000 to $12,000 per client. These cost savings reflect reduced prison costs, reduced revolving-door arrests and trials, and reduced victimization.
Treatment focuses on breaking the addiction cycle. “Participants come in here with a maladaptive skill set. Lying, cheating and manipulating works for them. For some, it’s all they know. We try to reinforce behaviors that will keep them out of trouble, help them to make good friendships and improve their relationships overall,” said Kathy Davis, program director at Colorado West Regional Mental Health Incorporated and member of the drug court team.
The drug court team meets with the participants in the courtroom every other Friday. Watching them, it becomes obvious how much the team cares about the outcomes of each person in the program. The members of the team live in the small mountain community. They grew up here. They have kids in school here.
“We see the difference it makes,” said Davis.
Judge Romeo asked one participant named Doug how he felt when he reached 179 days of sobriety.
“I think my days end better.”
“How come?” she asked.
“Because of the nine people around this table,” he answered, pointing to the members of the drug court team.
The biggest contribution to Summit County that the drug court has to offer is not the recidivism rates or the cost savings. It is the positive impact on the community. When a participant becomes a graduate and remains sober, there is a ripple effect. It’s not just them; it’s their kids, their moms and their dads.
One participant, Aaron, came to court accompanied by his wife and mother. He’s been sober for 60 days. His mom stood up to address the judge. “I can see this program is helping him. He’s trying harder to do what he needs to do to make things better and that is improving things at home.” His face turned red. His wife wrapped her arm in his and squeezed his arm.
Drug courts are not without their critics. They threaten the status quo, the prison system as a whole, and there is risk involved with keeping drug-addicted criminals in the community or on the streets, so to speak.
Clinton, a relatively new participant in the Summit County drug court, answered this way when he was asked where he would be if were not for drug court: “I’d probably be on my couch getting high.”
Ben Wilder, a senior at Summit High School, put it this way: “Eighteen-, 25-year-olds come here in the winter to party and the kids see this. I think it definitely has an impact.”
Jeff McAbee (jjmcabee@yahoo.com) of Breckenridge is a campus supervisor at Summit High School and writes for the Summit Daily News.
