News and Events

International Drug Treatment Court News and Events

 

September 14, 2011

 

Insulza: Treat drug abuse as health threat

By JOSE MIGUEL INSULZA

While significant progress has been made in recent years to curb the production and flow of illicit narcotics, more needs to be done to reduce drug-related crime and cut drug consumption throughout the Americas. Ultimately, illegal drug use represents one of the biggest social and economic threats to societies throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Numerous studies have shown the underlying connection of substance abuse to crime. Eighty percent of inmates have a history of drug abuse and 50 percent are addicted. More alarming, approximately 80 percent of drug abusers commit a new crime, typically drug-driven, after their release from prison and 95 percent of addicted prisoners relapse upon release. As a first step to a comprehensive approach to confront drug dependency, it is crucial that nations of the Americas address the root cause of the problem. Treatment is necessary to break the all-too-frequent cycle of a life of drug dependency, crime and incarceration.

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June, 2011

 

The IADTC Mourns the loss of Justice Paul Bentley

On June 10, 2011 Justice Paul Bentley, presiding judge of the Toronto Drug Treatment Court and Chair of the International Association of Drug Treatment Courts, lost his battle with cancer. Justice Bentley was a true champion of Drug Treatment Courts and therapeutic jurisprudence and he left an indelible mark on countless lives in his native Canada and around the world. Below are tributes to Justice Paul Bentley from the international community.

 

Dear colleagues from the international community:

We learned today about Paul Bentley’s death. Our friend Paul, our dear Justice Bentley, touched so many of us along his life, in so many ways. Those of us who have had the pleasure and honor of working with him and knowing him will miss his smile, sense of humor, enthusiasm for life, and everlasting curiosity. We shall miss him, above all, as a man, a friend, and a champion of drug treatment courts.

Professionally, we are forever in his debt for making possible for us to know and talk to each other. Paul was one of the first to believe that there should be a network of people sharing a common goal. Besides his family, the drug treatment court movement was one of his passions: he invested time and energy to launch a drug court in Canada, and created the International Association of Drug Treatment Courts (IADTC).

Paul contributed to the drug treatment court concept and practice in a real tangible way. He was a leader in convincing policy makers and professionals from all over the world, and in particular in the Americas, that investing in drug treatment courts was worthwhile. He trained and worked with judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, treatment providers, police officers, and many more, and gave of himself freely, while doing so. In his day-to-day life as a drug treatment court judge in Toronto, he saw that his approach gave drug-dependent offenders a second chance.

Paul, we will miss you immensely. To his wife, daughters and entire family, our deepest and most sincere condolences on your sad loss.

Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD)
Secretariat for Multidimensional Security
Organization of American States

 

We invite you to visit the Inter-American Drug Abuse Coalition website where you will find numerous tributes to Justice Paul Bentley

 

OAS and CARICOM Promote Drug Treatment Courts in the Caribbean

Establishing and consolidating Drug Treatment Courts in the Caribbean: a team effort
Montego Bay, February 2011

More than seventy judges and other representatives from the judiciary system in the Caribbean participated in a high-level training conference for establishing and consolidating Drug Treatment Courts in the region. This conference took place in Montego Bay, Jamaica, from February 2nd to the 5th, 2011. Read more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IADCP Board Chair Justice Paul Bently with Antonio Lomba and Judge Winsome Henry during a break from a training in Monego Bay, Jamaica.

 

 

The 2010  Canadian Association of Drug Treatment Courts (CADTC) Conference ) will be held October 24-26,2010 in Banff, Alberta.

For more information, visit: http://programs.icdr.com/cadtc/

 

OAS Study Describes Positive Results of Drug Treatment Courts in 12 Countries
April 27, 2010

Drug treatment courts contribute significantly to the rehabilitation of drug addicted offenders, the reduction in costs of incarceration and control of local crime, according to a study of the Organization of American States (OAS) produced by its Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) and a research team from American University in Washington, DC.

The report, based on a survey of 12 countries, is a first-ever publication of the experiences and results of this type of court, and has as an objective to promote cooperation, the exchange of information and best practices among the member states of the OAS and other countries.

Click here to read more.

 

 

International Summit to Address Drugs and Crime

Members of IADTC recently travelled to Lugo, Spain for a Drugs Summit with European, Latin American and Caribbean mayors (April 22-24, 2010). The two day event sponsored by the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) was attended by 28 Latin American cities and 20 European cities.

 

Participants in the Lugo summit passed a resolution outlining thier collective goals towards the prevention and treatment of drug use and dependence.  

Click here to read the resolution.

 

 

Drug rehabilitation court graduates 17 participants
April 1, 2010
Cayman NetNews

The Drug Rehabilitation Court Programme, modeled after a south Florida programme for offenders whose crimes are linked to drug abuse, graduated 17 more participants on 25 March, bringing the total who have completed the four-phase programme to 37.

Click to read more