One of Cuyahoga County鈥檚 drug court judges joined Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike DeWine in opposing opposing state Issue 1, which would reduce penalties for drug possession.
Judge Joan Synenberg, who presides over one of the county鈥檚 two drug dockets, spoke alongside DeWine at a campaign event Monday.
Drug courts put defendants on a plan to receive treatment in exchange for having their case dismissed. Fifty-five counties in Ohio have at least one drug docket.
In Cuyahoga County, defendants are eligible for drug court if they鈥檙e facing third-, fourth- or fifth-degree non-trafficking felony drug charges. .
Synenberg said those defendants would no longer appear in her courtroom鈥攖hey鈥檇 end up in municipal court, not county common pleas court.
鈥淲e all want the same thing: We want people to have prosperous lives, this is another way to do it,鈥� Synenberg said. 鈥淏ut I don鈥檛 know even how drug court would continue to exist with passage of Issue 1.鈥�
Dennis Willard, a spokesman for the Yes On Issue 1 campaign, said judges would still be able to send defendants to get help for addiction.
鈥淒rug possession will still be a crime鈥攁 misdemeanor, in which judges can then send people to treatment programs,鈥� Willard said.
He said the proposed constitutional amendment would direct more money toward treatment programs.
鈥淲e know that incarceration does not work. It does not cure drug addiction. Treatment does,鈥� he said.
Copyright 2021 90.3 WCPN ideastream. To see more, visit . 9(MDA5NTM4MTIyMDE0MTg3NDc2MTVlZjdmNQ001))
