Are drug courts the best way to handle addicts?

Drug courts have become a staple in our justice system - they were created as a more productive way to deal with addicts and were heralded as an attempt to provide rehabilitation along with punishment. But have they been effective?

Journalist Maia Szalavitz argues that for all their good intentions, drug courts have been a failure, allowing judges to practice medicine and endangering the lives of those they are supposed to be helping.

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