QUESTION:
From what I gather that most of the underage drug treatment facilities in Washington state are state contracted, or state operated facilities. Further, most of the kid sent to them are court ordered.
Something tells me this law does little to protect them from drug
abuse treatment. Once in the court system most juvenile offenders lose what-ever few rights they had in the first place?
Charley's Response:
You are partially right, but let me put this in perspective. Even the most libertarian amongst us would agree that there are limits on rights when an individuals activities might infringe on the welfare of someone else and (not always equivalent) one breaks the law. When youth are apprehended with drugs, or using drugs, a youth has "volunteered" to give over their fate to authorities in some sort of fair process involving evidence, legal process, representation, etc.
While a juvenile court hearing may not always be totally fair (or any other court situation for that mater) one does not loose rights in such a situation, even if you have no means to exercise those rights. You do the crime and therefore you do the time!
While many of us see drug laws in the United States as born of hysterics and false premises regarding dangers of specific drugs (not heroin or meth of course,) or what are appropriate responses to youth misbehavior regrading drugs, we are stuck with these laws and with the paternalistic juvenile justice and school discipline systems which respond to these laws.
Youth with good lawyers have resources to fight the decisions of the courts and school system hearings and some have even done so successfully without parental assent or collaboration. This is not a perfect system, but it is not one devoid of youth rights or legal process. If there were outrageous abuses in our system there would be a pack of lawyers ready to attack the problems. The fact is because youth have rights in this state, we don't have the gross abuses. We have well intended if ineffective, shorter term residential programs for drug abusers, and even some youth who likely are helped by having their jets cooled for a while.
It is interesting to me that youth in Washington state who get "busted" with a load of Marijuana, or Shrooms, or Meth, or other drugs in schools or in the community and get "sent to rehab," or committed to "juvie"actually accept the subsequent residential placement as a reasonable and expectable fate for what they have done, i.e. be stupid enough to get caught. The sentences, or treatment courses are not lengthy, most kids blow off their time of being incarcerated and counselled, get out and do a better job of being discrete. It is processed as the cost of doing business. My reading of the data is that about 10% - 12% of the youth in such programs actually get some result that could be called a good
treatment result, i.e. own up to a real problem, get and stay abstinent for a long period of time.You're right, the treatment programs are funded by the state (although the programs are run by well established private agences. The regulation and accountability of these agencies in our state is actually very good.
While the success and efficacy of the programs is questionable, their benign intent and sincere program staff is not in question. So I hope this clearifies things a bit. It raises all sorts of issues regarding what is good regulation and what are defacto loss of rights (i.e. when one is poor and can't afford fancy lawyers to exercise one's rights.)
Charley
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
