BENTONVILLE — He never thought he would complete juvenile drug court.
But on Sept. 1, the 16-year-old was honored for graduating from the program.
His two-year participation in the program wasn't an easy one. Besides him, others also did not know whether he could successfully go through drug court.
There was a relapse, and he was sent to a treatment facility.
When he returned to drugcourt, he was a different person.
"I'm very proud of him," Circuit Judge Jay Finch said while congratulating the teen for his work in completing the program.
Finch said the teen had done a great job of dealing with difficult circumstances in his life and learning how to cope with his problems without resulting to drugs.
"I don't want to put my parents through what I did while on probation," he said after turning to address the audience. "I thought it was time to grow up."
His story in drug court is a successful one, but there are others.
During Tuesday's drug court, Finch and his staff were also faced with whether a 16-year-old girl would be admitted to the court.
The girl's father is disabled and may not be able to provide the needed support for his daughter in the program. The court meets monthly, but participants must attend numerous counseling sessions.
"Your drug use is one of the worst I've ever seen," Finch said to her. "Without the support of family or a friend, I don't know how you could make it."
The father said he is willing to help his daughter as much as he can, but might not be able to drive her to all of the mandatory counseling sessions.
Finch asked the girl to check with another family member or friend to see if someone would aid her father in supporting her through the program.
Another teen's case wascalled, but he was not present. He is presently in a treatment facility.
His drug of choice is cough syrup.
The teen was present during an August session of the court.
His mother worked at a store, and while there with her unloading merchandise, he managed to steal a bottle of cough syrup.
His act was discovered, and he was being held in the Benton County Juvenile Detention Center.
"You like cold medication?" Finch asked the teen.
"Yes, sir," he responded.
He had relapsed three times, and cough syrup was the temptation each time.
The cough syrup contains dextromethorphan or DMX.
According to information from Phoenix House, DMX is one of the most commonly misused and abused over-the-counter medications.
Finch wanted to know how the drug made the teen feel.
"It makes me feel normal," the teen said.
Drug-court staff members told the judge the teen's addiction to cough syrup is just as serious as addictions to other drugs and alcohol.
The teen apologized to the judge and the drugcourt team because he felt he had let them down.
Finch ordered that the teen be sent to a treatment facility in hopes of him learning the necessary tools to avoid drug-seeking behavior.
Deputy Prosecutor BryanSexton said they are seeing more and more cases of juveniles and prescription drugs. "More kids are getting pills because they have access to their parents' medicine cabinet or are getting the pills from friends," Sexton said.
Both Finch and Sexton said support from parents or anther family member or friend is vital to a juvenile successfully completing the program.
Sexton said family and friends offer support to participants in adult court, but the support is especially important to juveniles.
Some of the juveniles' issues could be issues with the parents or other family members, and the court can offer counseling for parents and other family members, Sexton said.
Area, Pages 12 on 09/20/2009