the stupid drug war gets bigger. Original Article Pinal County plans juvenile drug court Josh Kelley The Arizona Republic Oct. 13, 2005 12:00 AM Pinal County Superior Court plans to start a juvenile drug court next year that is designed to pull young people away from substance abuse through an intensive probation and treatment program. The new court will address illicit drug use, which Pinal County Presiding Superior Court Judge William O'Neil said has become increasingly rampant. O'Neil estimated that 30 percent to 40 percent of cases in Superior Court involve drugs. The percentage of Pinal County eighth-graders who admit to substance abuse is above the state average for the use of alcohol and marijuana and at or above the state average for various types of illegal drugs, according to the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission's 2004 Youth Survey. But by Grade 12, the county's teens are more in line with state averages for substance abuse, the survey found. An influx of methamphetamines is spilling from Mexico into Pinal County, O'Neil said. He is particularly concerned about the crystalline form of meth, which O'Neil said can be much more desirable and tempting than cruder forms of the drug. "The problem's not going to get better," he said. "It's getting worse." He said parents should understand that "it's not the boogeyman on the street that's" selling drugs or the "dealer in a trench coat hanging around the school." He said it's within teens' own peer groups that drugs are passed along, opening the door to addiction. The court will be funded primarily with a $450,000 grant awarded last month by the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, a division of the Department of Justice. Additional funding includes $150,000 worth of donated time by court personnel and cash provided by the County Attorney's Office, said Melissa Knight, programs administrator for Pinal County Superior Court Administration. The juvenile drug court will be based in Casa Grande, where up to 30 young people will be enlisted in the pilot program over three years. O'Neil described the juvenile court as a "judge-involved treatment program" with a design that has been successful throughout the country. "They have a track record that has increasingly proved that they are effective at helping people get their lives on track after being on drugs," O'Neil said. After an offender is sentenced or pleads guilty to substance abuse, that young person is put under a tightly monitored probation program to prevent more drug or alcohol use. Probation and surveillance officers check in with the offender on a regular basis. The young person undergoes a substance abuse treatment program that could include community service work or an accountability group, O'Neil said. The offenders initially report to a judge each week, then bi-weekly, then monthly. They eventually are weaned off probation after a year or two, depending on how well they respond to treatment, O'Neil said. Most of the money for the drug court will go toward treatment from organizations such as Horizon Human Services in Casa Grande and the Pinal Gila Behavioral Health Association. Knight said the County Attorney's Office, Public Defender's Office, Juvenile Court Services, judges and treatment programs have planned and trained over the last year to make the juvenile drug court a reality. The county is awaiting word from the federal government on whether it will receive an another $450,000 federal grant to fund an adult drug court, Knight said. An answer is expected by the end of the year. The county had operated a drug court, but it dissolved because of lack of funding, O'Neil said.