Drug Courts

The new treatment may help overcome some courts' lingering—and dangerous—aversion to medication-assisted treatment.

• By Francie Diep

Updates to past Pacific Standard stories.

• By Pacific Standard Staff

Seeing opioid addiction as a disease, instead of a moral failing, helps.

• By Francie Diep

As drug courts spread across the world, new standards and best practices aim to hold them all accountable.

• By Lauren Kirchner

Hailed as the most compassionate way for the criminal justice system to deal with addicts, drug courts were designed to balance punishment with rehabilitation. But after 25 years, the verdict is in: Drug courts embolden judges to practice medicine without a license—and they put lives in danger.

• By Maia Szalavitz

An early look at a Pacific Standard story that's currently only available to subscribers.

• By Pacific Standard Staff

Community courts across the country are fighting judicial backlog and lowering re-arrest rates.

• By Lauren Kirchner

Stories from the 25th anniversary celebration of the nation’s first drug court.

• By Lauren Kirchner

Vet courts, like drug courts, treat the underlying factors for first-time offenders.

• By Lauren Kirchner

Eric Holder’s plan to reduce mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenders is met with praise, and supported by the facts.

• By Lauren Kirchner