WHITFIELD COUNTY, GA — Those struggling with addiction in two north Georgia counties now have a new resource to help get back on their feet.
We explain how judges are helping shape a more unified recovery community in Whitfield and Murray counties.
The Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office says they’ve dealt with 116 overdoses in 2025
That’s one of the reasons they want to tailor their drug court program to also help those with mental health issues.
These are the two 2026 graduates of the new combined treatment court.
The program has two tracks, mental health and drug addiction, and typically takes about a year and a half to complete.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, more than half of adolescents in a community-based drug treatment program also met the criteria for mental illness.
Judges say participants leave with life skills and a chance at a new path, meeting weekly with judges to stay on track.
That’s different from traditional probation, which can stretch months or years.
“So the need to help intervene with that has been great, and you saw over the last 20 years an increased emphasis on intervening to help cut. Help treat the root causes that are driving the criminality, whether that be addiction or mental health issues. What we had been doing before didn’t seem to be working. We would just see the same offenders over and over again, said Judge Scott Minter, Superior Court Judge in the Conasauga Judicial Circuit.”“What I tell them is, after we do the plea, I’ll step down and come into the courtroom with them and talk to them and say, you know, everyone in this program, the staff, your fellow participants, everyone involved wants you to succeed. They want you to get a diploma one day. So talk to the staff. Listen to the staff do what they tell you to do, said Judge Bert Poston, Superior Court Judge.”
On its own, the program’s organizers say the drug court has already been successful.
In April of last year, the Conasauga drug court held one of its largest graduation ceremonies with six people completing the program.
Chief superior court judge Cindy Morris emphasizes to all participants that it’s more than just showing up, but coming out of the program better than when you started.
“We find out that by working together, we’re stronger, because a lot of our people have the same issues with mental health issues, addiction issues, just life skills issues. Some folks don’t have a driver’s license. They’ve never had a bank account. There are a lot of things that they just need to learn about being a productive member of society, said Cindy Morris, Chief Superior Court Judge.
The overall message that judges want the participants to walk away with is that you’ve already done the hard work.
Now it’s time to use these tools to change your life.