May is National Drug Court Month. Drug courts offer offenders treatment instead of jail time.

At a symposium at Florida Gulf Coast University this week on addiction and the judicial system, addiction experts, judges and lawyers talked about the challenges facing drug and mental health courts in Lee County.

The first drug court in the country started in Miami-Dade County in 1989. Today, there are 101 drug courts in the Florida.

Josephine Gagliardi is a drug court judge in Lee County. She said drug court keeps people out of prisons and offers them tools to change their lives.

A 2013 report by NPC Research found drug court graduates were arrested 30 percent less often in Florida in the year following their treatment than those who were eligible, but did not participate.

But, the program’s capacity is limited to about 150 people in the county. Gagliardi said there’s a waiting list for offenders.

“Every program could always use more improvement,” she said. “We could use more bed space, we could use more treatment centers, we could use more counselors, we could all use a lot more anything, but I think our program is working.”

Former prosecutor turned criminal defense lawyer Steven Wetter disagrees with the structure of drug court.

He feels the program is a double-edged sword because his clients have to enter a plea and become convicted felons before getting help.

He would rather give them the chance to enter treatment and if they don’t succeed then go through prosecution for their drug-related crimes.

“Now, all that goes away if they succeed,” he said. “If they don’t, I feel as though I haven’t performed my duties as best representing them. I’ve sent them now as a convicted felon into prison.”

Panelists also talked about case management and bringing a veteran’s court to Lee County.