Chapter 6

When we got to court our attorney wasn't there, so we sat and listened to the drug court counselor explain the program.  We listened to the public defenders telling their clients how the program worked. 

     It was all very simple; you go to the center every day from one to three hours.  You must drop urine upon request and it must be clean, if you don't drop, you will be presumed dirty and using and could be kicked out of the program.  After thirty days clean, you can move to phase one, where you still come every day to sign in and attend a two-hour meeting twice a week.  You will then get a counselor of your own who will see you once a week.  The counselor will decide when you are ready for phase two. 

     Phase two means your doing pretty well; you go to two meetings per week and see your counselor on the third day.  After phase two you will move to phase three, which is attending meetings once, a week and seeing your counselor once a week. 

     The treatment is attending group meetings, narcotics anonymous meetings and alcoholics anonymous meetings; acupuncture is available also.  If your counselor feels you are about to relapse, they may put you in relapse prevention, detox or jail for the weekend or whatever.  The program usually last about a year.  If you complete the program your record is sealed and adjudication is withheld.  If you don't complete the program or get kicked out, you go back to square one.  Meaning spend five to ten thousand to prove the cop did something wrong and get the case thrown out or spend up to 5 years in jail.  

     I don't want to talk about jail.  Mike's attorney had advised him to accept the drug treatment program. 

     All rise court is in session.  Mikes attorney arrived and had Mike moved up on the docket, they do that for attorneys, so

they can get out of there.  It seemed like everyone was opting for drug treatment.  Why not, it is your second chance! 

     "The state vs. Mike" was called.  His attorney, Mike and I went forward. 

     "Do you understand the charges, and your rights in this case?"  The judge asked?  His attorney took it from there, saying yes he did and he wanted to go into the program.  The necessary documents were signed and we were on our way out by 10:30 with instructions on how to proceed. 

     We went to drug treatment to sign up for orientation; it would be that Wednesday for one hour.  We went to Pre Trial Intake also known as PTI and were interviewed by his "probation officer".  She took his history and talked to us, she seemed very nice and caring.  She even told Mike she would not drug test him until next month because it would be dirty anyway.  Mike seemed so happy that he had this opportunity to start over.

     On Wednesday he went in for orientation.  It lasted one hour; he was given a number, a number that he would be known by on all documentation during the next year.  They told him what they expected from him, gave him papers to sign, and sent him on his way.  

     He came back to work and explained it to me, I didn't understand, so I called drug treatment so they could explain it to me.  The man I spoke with told me that treatment was confidential; he wouldn't even talk to me.  "I just want some information on your program."  I stammered. 

     "Then come in to the center, we will not discuss this over the phone."  He ordered briskly.  State agencies never said they

had to be nice.  They had said in court that this program was confidential, they would tell no one if you were there or not there.  I supposed that was the reason for giving him a number.  I didn't go in because I thought they wouldn't tell me anything since I myself was not in the program.

     Mike went every day; we tried to reinforce his well being at home.  We told him how different he was now that he was clean.  He had a personality, a very good personality.  We liked the clean Mike, he was fun, funny, and happy, he liked to work, to keep busy.  We hadn't seen this side of him since he started smoking pot when he was thirteen.  I could not believe the difference in him.  All that time I thought something was wrong with him it was the drugs! 

     He liked us too; he said we were fun to be with.  He stopped hanging with his friends, the druggies, and although embarrassed to go out with us at first, he felt people would think him weird, and friendless, he started going out with us. 

     We went to dinner, car races; we wanted to show him there was more to life than drugs. Mike even liked himself! 

     He didn't really want to try roller-blading, said maybe to ice skating, he liked to shoot pool, but his dad would take him to the bar for that and he would drink beer.  He drank a lot of

beer, he was replacing the drugs with beer.  He said he was not an alcoholic, so he could drink.  I think he spent the whole month of October in bars.

     "Remember you have to go to PTI before November seventh to see your probation officer, do you think the pot is out of your system?"  I questioned him. 

    " Well they say it takes thirty days, so it should be."  Mike replied.

     "Don't they test for alcohol in your urine too?"  I inquired.

     "No, alcohol doesn't show up."  He responded. 

     "How do you know?" I grilled. 

     "The people at drug treatment told me."  Mike answered flatly. 

     The people at drug treatment told him a lot of things!  Mike told me if you’re dirty at drug treatment, it's okay, as long as you admit it, but you better be clean when you go to PTI because that is the State!  Your probation officer reports to the judge every month, when you go to court they give your PTI results.  You must report to PTI on a designated day every month.  You drop urine and see your probation officer if they are in.  You show them check stubs to prove you are working or you must be attending school. 

     So what Mike learned in drug treatment from his peers was, be clean for PTI then go get high, it takes three days for crack cocaine to leave your system, so if you can, you should get high on Friday afternoon and don't report to drug treatment till Monday night.  Of course this is very difficult for an addict. 

     In church we said a special prayer every week for world peace.  It was a prayer Pope Leo XIII composed, in a vision; he had been shown the fearful battle to be waged between Saint Michael and Satan, over the church of the future:  

     "Saint Michael the archangel, defend us in our day of battle, be our safeguard against the wickedness and the snares of the devil.  May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell, Satan and all the other evil spirits, who prowl through the world, seeking the ruin of souls, Amen.  Mary, Queen of all Saints, Pray for us."

     I had given this prayer to Mike when he first started drug treatment, I asked him to read it daily, I guess we should have read it together.  Hindsight is 20/20 vision, isn't it!

Author's Note

I wrote this book in 1997 and it has been sitting on a shelf getting dusty I pulled it out and read it over again and I need the reader to tell whether to scrap it or rewrite it! Please help me decide what to do with this...