ADDICTS BEATING THE ENEMY; TOUGH DRUG PROGRAM'S GRADS EARN DIPLOMAS, SELF-RESPECT.

Byline: Rick Orlov Daily News Staff Writer

One was a Harvard graduate, another a woman separated from her family who panhandled for a decade. A third was a Vietnam veteran who spent decades on various forms of drugs.

They had nothing and everything in common. They all had been humbled by drugs.

On Friday they found themselves in a normally grim courtroom bedecked with a colorful bouquet of red, green, blue and yellow balloons to celebrate their graduation from what has become known as the tough-love program of Drug Court.

``This was my last chance,'' said Robert Outland, the Harvard graduate who said he turned to crack cocaine because of low self-esteem. ``I needed this to get my life back together.''

Outland had been on probation for his drug use and was facing the threat of returning to jail when his probation officer persuaded him to try Drug Court.

``This is the toughest thing I've ever been through,'' Outland said, ``but it works because your life is taken over by the court. If you mess up, you go to jail.''

Instead, Outland will begin working in Century City for a mortgage banking firm.

The Aug. 21 arrest of Los Angeles Councilman Mike Hernandez on suspicion of cocaine possession has focused attention on rehabilitation programs such as the Drug Court.

While aides said Hernandez is going for a less severe rehabilitation program, one Drug Court official said he hopes the councilman will change his mind and serve as a model for addicts.

Started in '94

Drug court is an unusual program that started in Municipal Court in 1994. Advocates say it makes tough demands on defendants, but has a higher success rate than other diversion programs.

``Diversion alone does not work,'' said Judge Stephen Marcus, who has been in charge of the Los Angeles Drug Court since its inception. ``It was simply an abysmal failure with something like 70 percent failing. The other aspect is there is a feeling that drug diversion doesn't do anything to change people's lifestyles.''

Marcus, a judge since 1989 and a former prosecutor, said the Drug Court is showing a 41 percent success rate in keeping people off drugs and away from the criminal justice system.

That may seem low, but Marcus said it is much better than any other program the courts have tried in the past.

``We see a lot of failures, but this is the toughest jurisdiction,'' Marcus said. ``We get people with 15 years of addiction and who may be out of work and homeless. I am convinced that drugs are one hell of an enemy, so it isn't easy to defeat it.''

Violent excluded

To get into the Drug Court program, an individual must be an addict - not a casual user - and undergo a strict background check. Those with convictions for violent, sexual or drug-selling crimes are not eligible.

It is not an easy program to get through.

Those who are accepted must pay $300 and, during the first four to six months, undergo drug testing five times a week. If there are no problems, then drug tests decline to three a week for the remainder of the program.

Also, each week participants must attend six 12-step mutual support meetings, two group counseling sessions and one individual counseling session.

And, to make sure they are following through the program, they have to appear in Marcus' court every four to six weeks.

``Most other diversion programs have people going to a counselor a couple of hours a week,'' Marcus said. ``It simply doesn't work.''

Sanctions faced

Marcus is a stern taskmaster in administering the program, although he acknowledges he has eased up somewhat over the years.

``At the start, it was one violation and they're out,'' Marcus said. ``We've come to recognize how hard it is, and if there is a relapse we're more understanding.''

Those who fail a drug test or or miss meetings face sanctions from Marcus, which could include jail for a weekend or several full days in court.

Marcus said peer pressure also helps.

Every Friday afternoon, a group from the program must appear before Marcus.

``There's a dynamic that occurs in a group setting,'' Marcus said. ``If someone is successful, there's applause and support. If someone has a lapse, everyone there knows it.''

Sometimes the excuses for the lapses are incredible.

``One told me had been bitten by a cocaine-eating spider,'' Marcus said. ``I turned to the audience and asked if anyone believed that. No one did.''

600 graduated

More than 600 people have gone through the program - some 150 are now involved - and it has bred its own success, Marcus said.

Those who complete the program each get a diploma at special graduation ceremonies. An alumni association has been started to offer help.

``This is an important program to get people off of drugs,'' Marcus said. ``If someone is drug-free, it's like six degrees of separation. Drug abuse affects that person and six other people.''

In addition to those in his court, Marcus also finds himself dealing with his judicial colleagues.

``Most of the reaction is positive, but there are a couple of cynics,'' Marcus said. ``I understand that. For five years, I was in the major narcotics division of the DA's Office. This is a hard war to win.''

Bob Mimura, executive director of the Countywide Criminal Justice Coordination Commission, said his group is about to fund a study to determine the success of the program.

``This has only been in effect since 1994, so the first graduates didn't hit the streets until 1995,'' Mimura said. But he said commissioners already have heard some informal evidence that the program has a profound effect on participants.

``Part of it may be that the people who are in this are more motivated to get off drugs. I've (heard) speeches where people say this was the first time they were off drugs for 20, 25, 30 years. And the judges report a real sense of satisfaction in seeing the changes in individuals.''

Mimura said the study will track the rate at which people return to drug use after completing the program.

After traditional programs, he said, the rate of return to drug use is higher than 60 percent, ``and we think it's much lower with those who've been through Drug Court; that's what we want to establish.''

In Santa Monica last week, Municipal Judge Laurence Rubin presided over a graduation ceremony for 19 recovering people.

Rubin praised them for their willingness to stick with the program despite the problems that led to their drug problems.

Future full of hope

Robin Robertson said she spent 10 years on the streets begging for money to buy drugs before she entered the program. She was estranged from her family and had almost lost hope of ever having a decent life.

``Now I'm a waitress,'' she said. ``I'm talking to my daughters. I have so much hope.''

Alan Goldberg, the Vietnam vet hooked for more than two decades, said he may have been looking for a sign to seek rehabilitation. He got one.

``I remember driving along, and looking for a place to use some drugs I had just bought, when I swerved a little and bumped into a car,'' Goldberg said. ``It belonged to a deputy district attorney.''

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

PHOTO (1) Graduates share a laugh at a ceremony marking their successful completion of a Drug Court tough-love program.

(2) Judge Laurence Rubin points to a bouquet of balloons honoring alumni of a harsh drug-rehabilitation program that advocates call highly successful.

(3) Kathy Rodriguez holds her infant son, Austin, after she passed drug tests.

Myung J. Chun/Daily News