Hocking County Municipal Court Judge Fred Moses talks to a recovering addict during Vivitrol court. Every Thursday during drug court Judge Moses checks in with people in the Vivitrol program, asking about what's going on in their lives and checking in with their counselors.
The Hocking County Municipal Courthouse is home to one of the first Vivitrol courts in the state. Many other counties have used it as a model because of the positive results that have come out of the program.
THE JUDGE
Judge Fred Moses presides over the first Vivitrol court in the state of Ohio. Vivitrol, which is used in medication-assisted treatment of opiate addiction, is unique because it is a non-narcotic that is used to inhibit opiate receptors in the brain.
Hocking County’s program is self-referred, and it involves not only treatment for addiction, but also for mental health issues. “If you only address one you're not really doing your job,” Judge Moses said.
The court has only been running for five years, but it has been highly effective so far. Out of about 7,589 drug screens administered, less than one percent have been positive for opiates, and the court has only seen three cases of recidivism.
“You know we talk about threats to our society, our biggest threat's not ISIS or North Korea, it's the opiate addiction… this is tearing at the fabric of our community,” Judge Moses said. “It's hard to watch because we've done this to our own society.”
Judge Moses is constantly overloaded with work and rarely has a moment to himself. “It's exhausting, but if I can help somebody it's worth it,” he said. “One gentleman just stopped me and said I got my daughter back, I work for the iron workers union, and I make $38 an hour and I'm a lead guy now. So for all the bad stuff you see, you see good stuff too.”
Vivitrol court is open to the public and the courtroom is usually full with program participants and visitors.