4. Participate in the DTC program
Question & Answer
What is Drug Treatment Court and how do I participate?To participate in the Drug Treatment Court (DTC) program, you must:
- follow your treatment plan
- go to court regularly
- not commit new crimes
If you don't, the Crown might kick you out of DTC.
DTC treatment plan
Your treatment may include medical treatment, counselling, employment training, and housing.
Treatment plans usually include group counselling three or four times a week. As your addiction improves, the frequency might be reduced.
Treatment plans also usually include random urine drug tests.
Court attendance
You must attend court regularly, sometimes twice a week. If your treatment is going well, the frequency might be reduced.
In court, you tell the judge how treatment is going. If the judge thinks you're doing well, the judge may:
- congratulate you for doing well
- reduce how often you must go to court
- give you a reward such as a coffee gift certificate or movie passes
If the judge thinks you're not doing well, they may:
- increase your court appearances
- increase your urine tests
- force you to complete community service
New criminal charges
If you don't follow your or if you get new charges, the Crown might remove you from the DTC program.
If you want to stay in DTC after you get new charges, you will have to reapply and get permission from the Crown. The Crown will likely only agree if you to your new charges and also serve 30 days in jail. Once you finish the time in jail, you'll get a new DTC bail.
If the Crown wants to kick you out of DTC but you want to continue, you have a right to an expulsion . If you're successful at your hearing, you can return to DTC but you will likely have to participate in more programming than before.
If you're not successful at your hearing, you might still be able to get a certificate of DTC completion if you:
- finished at least 18 months of DTC,
- achieved certain goals, such as housing and employment, and
- stopped using street drugs, even if you're still using marijuana.
You will still be removed from the program and you won't formally graduate, but you'll be sentenced in DTC and you'll get a period of .
If you don't want to continue with DTC, you can do one of these:
- Ask the DTC judge to give you a .
- Cancel your original and send your case back to regular court for a . The judge will cancel your DTC bail, and you'll have to ask for a new bail. You can still plead guilty in regular court later if you want to.
