'Therapeutic' courts could see influx under Washington's next drug law

Lawmakers in Olympia are mapping out changes to Washington state’s drug possession law. Their current proposal contains criminal penalties. It also puts a big emphasis on “diversion” programs designed to help people avoid jail and criminal records. Drug courts or “therapeutic” courts could be one route for these cases.

Supporters say drug courts have a strong record of helping people succeed. Critics say their strict abstinence requirements can set participants up to fail.

Earlier this month marked “graduation day” for drug court participants at King County Superior Court in downtown Seattle. One graduate, Roxanne Kostelac, carried a red plastic toolbox, symbolizing the tools she’s gained to help her chart a new path. But she said she felt more apprehensive than celebratory.

“It’s not like I’m winning a Grammy!” she said. “Don’t get me wrong, I thank you all. But this is day one of going to work. I’ve got my toolbox. This is scary.”

When Kostelac and her fellow graduates opted into drug court, they were facing felony charges for property crimes, driven by addiction. But they successfully adhered to a rigorous program of treatment and mental health counseling, and found housing, jobs, pets and increased stability along the way.

On this day, King County Superior Court Judge Mary Roberts signed orders dismissing their felony charges. She said research bodes well for most drug court participants, even when they don’t graduate.

“Eighty-one percent of our participants have no new felonies at 36 months. It’s a terrific statistic for recidivism,” she said, adding that more than 80 percent of participants complete the program, taking an average of 16 months to do so.

Role of drug courts is unclear under proposed legislation

State legislators are debating a new bill (SB 5536) that requires anyone arrested for drug possession to be given the choice to engage in “diversion” — treatment and services — instead of going to jail. But those resources vary greatly throughout the state, and the role of drug courts under this new system is not yet clear.

Drug courts started decades ago at the felony level, but lawmakers are looking at making drug possession a gross misdemeanor. Those cases will go before municipal and district courts – and only about half of them offer drug court programs, which they often often call “therapeutic” or “community courts.”

Christina Mason, program manager for King County drug court, was on hand at the graduation to help award the certificates. Mason is also the president of the Washington Association of Drug Courts.

She said as state legislators debate Washington’s next approach on drug possession, she hopes they’ll allow for numerous off-ramps from jail. She said drug court could be a second exit for people who don’t succeed with less structured programs.

“Most of our participants have had substance use disorder treatment before, and they haven’t been able to succeed in traditional substance use disorder treatment in the community without that added support and accountability that comes from a drug court model,” Mason said.

Drug courts expanding at district and municipal levels

The state Administrative Office of the Courts spent about $9 million to expand local drug courts over the past two years, and is seeking an additional $20 million to continue the process.

Jenifer Howson is presiding judge of district and municipal courts in Skagit County, where she launched a drug court-style program in 2020. Those sessions are held outside of traditional courtrooms.

“So the judge sits at the same level and does not often wear a robe and talks face to face with people,” she said, with service providers in attendance as well. “And the whole goal of the entire room is to get the person safely into treatment so they don’t reoffend, and support them through that journey.”

Participants commit to not possessing or consuming any illicit drugs over the course of the program.

“The issue of relapse is handled on a case-by-case basis depending on the timing of a relapse,” Howson said.

If the person completes the program, the charge against them is dismissed, and if not, they can face sentencing.

The Washington Supreme Court struck down the state’s felony drug possession law in the 2021 “Blake” decision. A stopgap measure currently makes drug possession a misdemeanor, but that law is set to expire at the end of June.

Howson said her community courts currently see misdemeanor cases like shoplifting and trespassing connected to substance use. Legislative analysts estimate that district and municipal courts will receive 12,000 additional drug possession cases per year if the current bill goes forward.

Howson said the last few years have been an important learning process, and her alternative courts are ready to receive these new drug cases.

“I actually changed the name of my community court to community diversion court, just so everybody understands it’s there,” she said.

Bridget Lopez is the supervisor of LEAD legal systems advocates in King County. Her team helps clients, many of whom have substance use or mental health barriers, navigate the court system. She said drug court programs — versus a less rigorous type of diversion — have some big pros and cons. They are effective at helping people obtain housing, she said, but their success rate is not pronounced in the population she serves.

“I would say most of the people I work with who are filed into drug court do not complete it,” Lopez said.

She said drug courts are frequently described as “high risk, high reward,” and participants who fail can pay a steep price.

“If you don’t complete the program, you’re going back to the sentencing on your original charge,” she said.

She said sending those people to jail causes them to deteriorate further.

Drug court was grueling, but "I don't want to go back."

Pierce County resident Matthew Seed participated in drug court in 2017. He describes it as a grueling and stressful time.

Just out of jail, he had no money and no car. He had a job at UPS starting at 3 a.m. each night, which he commuted to on his bike, and then got back on his bike when he got off work at 8 a.m. for his next stop — drug court, followed by a Narcotics Anonymous meeting and then riding home.

"I didn’t even have money for food," Seed said. "I was starving by the time I got home.”

Seed said in those years he had vivid nightmares about failing a drug test, which could have meant years in prison. But he said drug court ultimately worked for him — the rigid structure got him on the road to recovery.

“I had never known life without drugs as a coping mechanism,” he said. “My parents were addicts. I honestly didn’t really know how to live.”

Now, Seed said, his life is better.

“I don’t want to go back,” he said. “So, I think drug court helped in that way.”

Still, he said it would have been so much better if someone had just offered him treatment years earlier.

“Nobody ever said, 'Hey, have you thought of treatment? Maybe this is an option for you.' Nobody! Until I said it,” he said.

Next big question: state funding for addiction treatment

The hope is that Washington’s next drug law will make addiction treatment possible, at every stage of the process. Everyone concerned agrees on that priority, whether they favor drug courts or less stringent approaches. And they say state funding will be crucial to make that happen.

Thurston County Prosecutor Jon Tunheim said he’s excited about the current bill’s emphasis on creating “a portfolio of options” to route people to treatment and services.

“Washington state is really trying to be out front in terms of innovative approaches to this issue,” he said, but it’s all leading to the next big question: “Where’s the money?”

Tunheim said drug courts at the felony level will continue to address the types of cases they are already focused on, where felony crimes are related to a person’s substance use disorder.