Before entering drug court in 2016, Richard Morrison Jr. said all he had ever known was “drug addiction and chaos.”
“I grew up in a house of drug addicts and alcoholics,” Morrison said. “Constant arguing and physical fights were normal occurrences in my everyday life in my childhood. I was not shown any other way to live and had no idea how to show any other emotion besides anger.”
In a written account of his experience with drug court, he described a difficult journey of overcoming his addiction to become a loving family man with a good job. Celebrating its 20th anniversary this fall, the Conasauga Circuit Drug Court shared several of its success stories with the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Terry Sosebe is the coordinator of the drug court, presided over by Judge Jim Wilbanks.
An 18- to 24-month program, drug court is an alternative to a prison sentence, Sosebe said. Participants meet with the judge weekly and also participate in group therapy sessions. Mistakes and relapses can send participants back to jail, he said.