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VIII. Drug Use and Crime by Participants During Treatment
Focus group participants in each site were asked to estimate the extent to which drug court participants used drugs and/or committed crimes while in the program. As expected, these topics were a little awkward and some focus group participants were not willing to discuss them freely. Particularly in groups consisting of active drug court participants, individuals may have felt that they were being asked to “inform” or “rat” on other participants. They may have believed that answers suggesting drug use and crime among program participants would result in some action by authorities that would have placed their cases in jeopardy. Despite these apparent concerns, discussions were fairly candid, if mixed.
Click here for excerpts of comments from focus group participants.
Click here for excerpts of comments from focus group participants.
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How common is drug use among participants in drug court? 
When focus group participants were asked how many of their drug court
peers used drugs, answers ranged from “hardly any” to as much
as 50 percent. Some participants said it depends on the individual and
his/her commitment to the program. Las Vegas focus group members estimated
that about 40 to 50 percent of drug court participants still used drugs,
but felt strongly that drug use was much lower among participants than
it would have been if they were not in the drug court program. Miami and
San Bernardino participants were generally unwilling to talk much about
this topic. One Seattle participant suggested that people in the program
“trade in” their drug addiction for alcoholism.