There is an important distinction in the way our criminal justice system should treat those who are addicted to drugs as opposed to those who simply run afoul of the law.

Although any crime brings about the need for sanctions against the person held responsible, treatment of the underlying addiction is much more cost-effective than mass incarceration.

We have seen that on the local level with programs such as the Terrebonne drug court, which focuses on treating the addiction that feeds the crime in the first place. It is a healthy way for any community to treat a plague as powerful as drug addiction and the legal problems that can flow from it.

“What the public needs to understand is drug addiction is a disease,” said Terrebonne drug court coordinator Danny Smith. “If you don’t receive treatment you’re either going to go in and out of prison or you’re going to die. Treatment is what’s best for the public. It costs the state $6,000 to put someone through Drug Court but $20,000 or $30,000 to put them in prison for a year. It’s a tremendous savings for taxpayers if we get them treatment rather than prison.”

Drug courts typically require strict adherence to a long list of requirements. They rely on drug testing and frequent monitoring to make sure the people in them are doing the things that are most likely to lead to recovery and deliverance from the cycle of addiction and crime.

And in Terrebonne, there is a long history of success associated with the drug court. It was one of the first in the state and continues to be a model program.

“The success rate of people not getting rearrested once they graduate is right around 75 percent,” Smith said. “We’ve had some real success stories. We’ve had people go on to become professionals, go to college and reunite with their families.”

That is powerful and compelling testimony about what can be achieved when our society looks at addiction in a way that focuses on recovery rather than punishment. It is sometimes difficult to achieve the perspective required for such a focus, but the results are so valuable that they necessitate the change.

Congratulations to the forward-thinking people here who put this program in place and to the countless people whose lives have been changed by it.

Editorials represent the opinion of the newspaper, not of any individual.