235821 Drug of choice among drug court participants participating in a rural Tennessee drug court

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Deborah Gibson, PhD CHES , Department of Health and Human Performance, University of Tennessee at Martin, Martin, TN
Drug Courts are special courts developed to address non-violent substance dependent offenders utilizing comprehensive supervision, drug testing and counseling services in lieu of jail/prison. In 1989 the first drug court began operation in Dade County Florida. Since 1989 over 2500 drugs courts have been developed across the United States. The 27th Judicial District Drug Court, which serves two rural west Tennessee counties, began operation in the fall of 2002. When the program was initiated methamphetamine abuse was rampant in rural west Tennessee where anhydrous ammonia was plentifully and there were no regulations in p lace regarding pseudoephrine procurement. In 2006, Tennessee passed legislation to limit the amount of pseudoephedrine that could be purchased at any one time and began a record keeping system to track the purchase of pseudoephedrine. The initial impact of this policy resulted in a reduction of methamphetamine lab busts across the state of Tennessee and a shift in drug of choice among drug court participants. New methods of methamphetamine production emerged. The “shake and bake” method requires smaller amounts of pseudoephedrine and is a must faster, cheaper, and simpler method of methamphetamine production. This presentation will look at the drug of choice trends prior to and following policy addressing pseudoephedrine procurement.

Learning Areas:
Public health or related public policy
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Briefly describe the function of a drug court. Discuss the limitations current legislation has on methamphetamine production. Discuss the shifting trends in drug of choice among drug court participants.

Keywords: Drug Use, Drug Addiction

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I serve on the drug court team and am the evaluator for the 27th Judicial District Drug court. I serve on the State Drug Court Advisory Council. I am a professor at the University of Tennessee at Martin. I am a Certified Health Education Specialist
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.