Governor Burgum proclaims May as Drug Court Month Tuesday, May 7, 2019

First Lady Kathryn Burgum on a recent visit to the Minot Juvenile Drug Court.

A courtroom is not a place where you expect to find scenes of celebration and tears of joy.  Unless, of course, it’s drug court.  During the month of May, drug courts throughout North Dakota will join more than 3,000 such programs nationwide in celebrating National Drug Court Month.  Drug Court Month is a celebration of the lives restored by drug court, and it sends the powerful message that these programs must continue and be expanded.

North Dakota has six juvenile drug courts and five adult drug courts.  The first courts opened their doors in May 2000 in Fargo and Grand Forks and were juvenile drug courts.  Drug courts help keep our roads safe from drunk drivers, intervene before our youth embark on debilitating life of drug abuse and crime, and give the participants the tools they need to stay clean, to reunite families, stay in school,  find employment and become tax paying citizens.

For more information about visiting a drug court you may contact Marilyn Moe at mmoe@ndcourts.gov or John Gourde at jgourde@nd.gov.

Read the governor's proclamation at: https://www.governor.nd.gov/sites/governor/files/documents/proclamations/Drug%20Court%20Month%202019.pdf