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Drug courts still lacking crucial funding

By Staff Writer

Drug addiction costs taxpayers $484 billion annually, according to Drug Addiction Support, a substance abuse support website. Rehabilitation facilities are effective in helping addicts detoxify, but many programs across the country still lack the funding to help all individuals who are seeking treatment.

The youth offender court program in Nevada is just one example of a treatment option that isn't receiving enough cash for operational purposes, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Its budget is currently $60,000 a year and it's still afloat thanks to private funding from donors.

"Funding is tough," program creator and judge Cedric Kerns told the news source. "We make our defendants pay for themselves. The defendant is working on recovery, pays for housing, and stress is the No. 1 indicator for relapse. We're surviving."

Despite the limitations, however, the program has still managed to change a number of lives. Families who have participated in the treatment process for loved ones battling addiction have helped increase the rate of success. Rehabilitation facilities can offer addicts the resources they need to detoxify and turn their lives around.