Drug Courts: A New Approach to Treatment and Rehabilitation / Edition 1

by James E. Lessenger, Glade F. Roper

Overview

This cutting-edge primer is ideal for the family physician/generalist facing challenges in clinical practice with the treatment of drug court patients. The authors share their extensive knowledge in treatment of addiction and withdrawal, treatment for patients with dual diagnoses of mental illness and addiction, and treatment of diseases associated with drug use, such as tuberculosis, hepatitis, and HIV infection. Unparalleled discussions of the drug court system and the medical problems of drug court patients are presented.

With concise yet comprehensive chapters, readers find essential coverage of drug testing, drug test collections and reports, and common scams for falsifying drug tests. Other topics include medical educational services that physicians can provide for attorneys, judges, counselors, probation officers, and clients; challenges of treatment physicians encounter; and medical interventions. The authors share their personal teaching file of cases from the Adult Drug Court in California to draw a detailed picture of how medical care fits within the overall therapeutic plan of drug courts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781441924421
Publisher:	Springer New York
Publication date:	10/29/2010
Edition description:	Softcover reprint of hardcover 1st ed. 2007
Pages:	486
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Dr. James Lessenger has practiced occupational and environmental medicine for more than two decades in California's San Joaquin Valley. In addition to keeping an active clinical practice, Lessenger is a Medical Review Officer on drug testing for the Department of Transportation and a consultant to many corporations and companies on drug testing, workplace drug issues, and industrial injuries. Dr. Lessenger has been a consultant to the Tulare County drug court since its inception in 1996 and was responsible for an exhaustive review of the system in 2001.

Glade F. Roper, JD is the presiding Adult Drug Court judge for rural Tulare County. He started and has maintained the Drug Court since 1996 and has been a jurist in the county since 1989. He created and has taught the Advanced Drug Court Track at the National Rural Institute on Alcohol and Drug Abuse for the last four years and speaks across the nation about rural drug courts and treatment issues.

Table of Contents

to Drug Courts.- The Disease of Addiction.- The Biologic Basis of Drug and Alcohol Addiction.- The Sociologic Basis of Drug and Alcohol Addiction.- The Physical Consequences of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.- Drugs and Alcohol in Pregnancy and the Affected Children.- The Social Consequences of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.- The Pharmacologic Treatment of Alcohol and Drug Addiction.- Co-Occurring Substance Abuse and Mental Health Disorders.- Counseling Strategies.- Client Life Skills Training.- Self-Help and Mutual Aid Organizations.- Building Supportive Services in Drug Courts.- Drug Testing Methods.- The Drug and Alcohol Testing Process.- Drug Testing Scams.- Analysis of Drug Testing Results.- Juvenile Drug Courts.- Drug Court Organization and Operations.- The Legal Basis for Drug Courts.- Drug Court Funding Options.- Strategies for Administering Rewards and Sanctions.- Roadblocks to Success.- Probation Strategies.- Relapse.- Law Enforcement and Drug Courts.- Record Keeping and Statistics.- Policy Options for the Future.- Case Study of Drug Court Intervention.

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Steven T. Herron, MD (Assurance Health and Wellness)
Description: The justice system has been inundated with offenses related to drugs and alcohol. In some jurisdictions, new legal options have been sought, as the sheer number of offenses has overwhelmed the legal system. Drug courts have emerged in some areas to combat the epidemic now choking the overburdened justice system.
Purpose: This book was penned as a guide to educate those involved about the process and procedures associated in developing and administering an alternative program for the rehabilitation of substance abusers in the legal system.
Audience: The editors indicate this book is meant for "those who are operating or wishing to create a drug court, physicians who will frequently see people who are drug court clients, judges, prosecutors, treatment providers, defense attorneys, probation officers, case managers and coordinators currently working in a drug court."
Features: This work attempts to combine all of the relevant information regarding each specific aspect of an individual's case throughout the system created with drug courts. It includes medical topics (such as the biologic basis of drug and alcohol addiction), law enforcement topics (like drug testing scams), and legal topics (including the legal basis for drug courts). Many of the chapters contain useful tables and charts. Each chapter ends with an extensive list of mostly current references, and the chapter on drug testing scams has some black-and-white photographs that can be educational.
Assessment: For anyone involved with people accused or convicted of a drug-related offense, the data presented in this book is neither surprising nor disturbing. However, this book might be more valuable to a lay person, one who knows little about the biological or genetic factors associated with addiction, or the legal system they are processed through. The authors provide detailed information without getting extremely technical, making it appropriate for readers from all political or philosophical viewpoints, backgrounds, educational history, or work experience.

Doody's Review Service