In addition to the above points, consider the purpose of drug
courts in general, that is why were they created? When the "Drug War" began in the 1980s, the
number of drug cases brought before the court system as a whole exploded into the tens of
thousands per year. While crime control advocates are not against the idea of a court to deal
with only drug cases, they are against what they have evolved into, which is a quick and cheap
way for the government to dispose of large numbers of such cases and still claim to be enforcing
the law.
The vast majority of these cases result in little jail
time, sort of a fast track plea bargain style of sentencing that often results in community
service, probation, restitution and treatment for first time offenders. What crime control
theorists haven't really articulated well is how a system that aggressively enforced all drug
laws could function on a practical level, especially in a budget crisis.
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