Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 5, 1995 TAG: 9502060062
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SARAH HUNTLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Judge G.O. Clemens, who sat on the bench for the Jan.11 sentencing hearing, listened to two hours of testimony. At times he clicked his tongue; when he spoke, his tone was somber. Clemens was in a quandary.
He had heard compelling testimony from several witnesses, including substance-abuse counselors and support-group leaders, all of whom said Eller had shown a commitment to staying clean. There was little room for court-ordered rehabilitation.
``As far as rehabilitating him, Mr. Eller has already done more than I could have ever thought of imposing on him,'' Clemens said.
But the judge had the weight of the public on his shoulders, too, and diverting prescription drugs is a felony. Calling his task ``unpleasant'' and ``troublesome,'' Clemens convicted Eller on one charge of fraudulently obtaining drugs and handed down a three-year suspended sentence.
``I have accepted the responsibility as a caretaker for the public trust,'' he said. ``I am obligated to send a message that this is against the law.''
At that moment, in the full but quiet courtroom, an age-old dilemma came to life - yet again. Courts have grappled with their conflicting obligations for years. Judges are purveyors of both punishment and rehabilitation; and when it comes to recovering addicts, the two roles rarely go hand in hand.
Substance-abuse experts say sometimes it takes police charges and court action to compel drug users and alcoholics to acknowledge their problem and seek help. But the legal system is slow, they say, and often chemically dependent health care professionals have progressed in recovery before their cases come up. For those who haven't, the possibility of a conviction and jail time make their troubles seem all the more daunting.
The influence of courts extends beyond rehabilitation; since 1990, they've also had a relationship with professional licensing boards. The state passed a law then that requires court clerks to notify the Department of Health Professions when a health care professional is convicted of a felony. When notified, the department must suspend the professional's license and schedule a hearing before the licensing board.
John Hasty is familiar with both sides of this issue, and he wishes there were some other way. For 11 years he was involved with the Virginia Pharmacists Assisting Pharmacists Program, which he founded. Now he is the director of the Department of Health Professions, which oversees all the regulatory boards.
``If you do wrong, you have to make amends. That's always true,'' Hasty said. ``I just wish there was some system out there that would help these people make amends without losing their willpower and resolve and without setting back their recovery efforts.''
He doesn't dispute that courts have an important role in addressing the country's drug problem, but he pointed out that most health care professionals divert drugs for personal use, not for distribution.
``I'm not trying to say that health care professionals are any better than anyone else, but statistics will show that incidents of health care professionals trafficking drugs is near zilch. It just doesn't happen,'' Hasty said. ``They take the drugs for personal use because they are sick. Chemical dependency is an illness.''
Despite increasing awareness, much of the public doesn't see it that way.
``We still think of the addict as someone who is bad. We're dealing with a person who has an illness. We'd never condemn a pharmacist who has cancer or a physical limitation. We support them. We applaud people who overcome adversity, but as the general public, we don't look at addicts that way,'' said Ernie LeClerc, marketing representative for the Farley Institute, a treatment facility in Hampton.
``If they overcome their handicap - chemical dependency - these professionals can function very effectively.''
Hasty argues that courts need to look at each case individually and weigh all the factors. When possible, he would like to see judges revert felony charges to misdemeanors and delay sentencing.
Above all, Hasty and others say the emphasis should be on recovery, not jail time.
Ninety percent to 92 percent of recovering health care professionals in Virginia successfully address their addictions, and many of them return to work. That, their supporters say, is in the public's best interest.
Hasty and others say health care professionals come out of treatment better health care professionals than before because their abilities to cope are improved and the dangerous side effects of using drugs are no longer an issue.
``There are people waiting in line to hire recovering pharmacists, because they are a known commodity,'' LeClerc said. ``If there is a drug missing from their store, the recovering pharmacist will step right up for a screening. They can rule him out.''
These programs work, and that fact should ease the public's fears, not add to them, LeClerc said.
``I'd much rather climb onto an airplane knowing the pilot is in recovery than see a bleary-eyed pilot go into the cockpit,'' he said. ``I'd feel a lot safer if I knew he'd been to an [Alcoholics Anonymous] meeting the night before.''
by CNB