title: Introduction: Progress and issues in drug treatment courts.
abstract: The first drug treatment court began in Miami, Florida in 1989, in direct response to the backlog of court cases for drug possession and trafficking. By mid-2001, there were 700 operational drug treatment courts and 400 more in the planning stages in the United States. In addition to providing an overview of the growth and development of drug treatment courts in the United States, this special issue examines their development in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The primary focus is the evaluation research conducted to date, which identifies some of the critical unresolved issues facing drug treatment courts.
authors.affiliation: Center for Drug and Alcohol Studies, University of Delaware, 77 E. Main St., Newark, DE 19716, USA. lharriso@udel.edu
authors.forename: Lana D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.forename: Frank R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Scarpitti
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D002170:Canada; D003415:Crime / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000639:trends; D003416:Criminal Law / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D033222:Judicial Role; D035846:Law Enforcement; D037141:Mandatory Programs; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011057:Politics; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000628:therapy*; D013808:Therapeutic Community; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D006113:United Kingdom; D014481:United States