Supervising Deputy District Attorney Doug Poston and District Attorney Public Information Officer Jacqueline Rodriguez were the guests on the Z107.7 Up Close Show with Gary Daigneault on Friday (March 31).
Daigneault asked about the District Attorney’s drug diversion tactics, including drug court, which allows minor offenders to seek treatment in the face of criminal charges.
“We have a couple of treatment courts that we use here in the Morongo Basin, that we use as part of the Joshua Tree courthouse. They are every other Monday respectively, drug court and mental health court.”
Poston explained that the drug courts typically allow those facing possesion charges to seek treatment in exchange for diminished or dismissed charges, but since drug possession has been significantly decriminalized in California, the drug courts have evolved to continue encouraging treatment.
“The straight possesion of narcotics, for instance the possession of methamphetamine for personal use that is a misdemeanor now in California. The penalty though, for instance, for a residential burglary, is up to six years in state prison. If we have an individual that is committing residential burglaries, stealing, to then sell the property they’ve stolen to fund their drug habit, then that person would be the type for drug court”
Listen to the full interview on the Up Close Show, available here.
