Drug Court Helps Addicts Find Sobriety

Henry Martinez is 52 years old, the father of six children and the grandfather of 14. He was a heroin addict for 20 years.

David Collier is a 21-year-old single college student who had a methamphetamine addiction.

On Tuesday, both men joined 13 other people of all ages and races in becoming the first graduating class of Ventura County’s Drug Court.

The graduates had all been arrested and convicted of drug charges last year. But they successfully completed the yearlong Drug Court program and stayed sober, prompting Municipal Judge Barry Klopfer to remove the drug convictions from their records.

“These people worked hard,” Klopfer told the 100 or so family members and friends gathered to watch the graduation in the Hall of Justice at the county Government Center in Ventura. “Some people came into Drug Court and said, ‘This program is too hard. Let me serve my jail sentence.’ ”

More than half the 34 addicts who signed up for the program a year ago either dropped out or failed, Klopfer said. Enrollees are ordered into treatment programs and required to be tested for drug use twice a week while attending several 12-step meetings a week.

The 15 receiving diplomas Tuesday agreed that the program was stringent and at times difficult. But the rewards, they said, are still coming.

“As my addiction greatly affected my family, so has my sobriety,” said Martinez of El Rio. He said a 20-year-old relative--battling addiction demons of his own--is now attending 12-step programs too.

Collier also took credit for his accomplishment. “It’s an achievement that I’m proud of,” the Ventura man said.

“It’s been pretty hard. All of my friends are into drugs, and the peer pressure is sometimes tough to overcome.”

Klopfer, who handed over responsibility for the second Drug Court to Municipal Judge Rebecca S. Riley on Tuesday, was presented with a plaque calling him a “courageous man” for helping to organize and preside over the alternative criminal justice program.