<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1576535188739.jpeg" alt="Amie Greenwood receives a hug from her arresting officer Thursday during drug court graduation." />
 <figcaption>Amie Greenwood receives a hug from her arresting officer Thursday during drug court graduation.</figcaption>
 </figure>By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays PostMark Bryant had been in and out of the court system since 2013, a result of an addiction to methamphetamine.Bryant, 39, admitted he had made bad choices. He was scared, and he used the drugs to numb the pain. "I ended up on drug court, and I was not a very good person," Bryant said during graduation. "I thought I had life in check, but I didn't."He lost custody of his children, and he knew he needed to change."They say you don't realize what you have until its gone," he said. "When my kids were almost gone, I realized what I had."<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1576536292535.jpeg" alt="Mark Bryant, 39, holds his arms up in victory after letting out a loud "woohoo" during his drug court graduation Thursday." />
 <figcaption>Mark Bryant, 39, holds his arms up in victory after letting out a loud "woohoo" during his drug court graduation Thursday.</figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;Bryant's family is together today, and he is sober thanks to Ellis County's new drug court. He said drug court gave him the tools to get clean."Drug court gave me an incentive," Bryant said. "A lot of people don't understand. When you're in addiction, even if you want help, it takes a little incentive to make yourself go through with the help.&nbsp;"What drug court showed us was that we can recognize our positives. It rewarded us for doing good and showed us there is hope to be sober."Bryant along with five others were the first graduates of the drug court program in Ellis County on Thursday.&nbsp;Other graduates included Sierra Carrasco, Ashlee Forde, Amie Greenwood, Dustin McNeill and Nicola Pfeifer.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1576536329801.jpeg" alt="From left: Teresa Greenwood, court services officer and drug court coordinator, drug court graduates&nbsp; Ashlee Forde, Sierra Carrasco, Dustin McNeill, Mark Bryant, Nicola Pfeifer and Amie Greenwood, and Judge Glenn Braun." />
 <figcaption>From left: Teresa Greenwood, court services officer and drug court coordinator, drug court graduates&nbsp; Ashlee Forde, Sierra Carrasco, Dustin McNeill, Mark Bryant, Nicola Pfeifer and Amie Greenwood, and Judge Glenn Braun.</figcaption>
 </figure>Teresa Greenwood, court services officer and drug court coordinator, said for many of the participants, drug court is the last stop before prison.Ellis County Drug Court, which was started in 2018, has 35 participants. The six graduates on Thursday were a part of 11 participants who started the program in August 2018. One other participant of the original 11 is still completing the program.The court is designed to target non-violent offenders who are considered&nbsp; high-risk of having drug issues.Participants have supervision from their probation officers, random urinalysis (UAs) and substance use treatment. They are also provided mental health and medical services if they need them.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1576536251083.jpeg" alt="Sierra Carrasco, 29, said drug court has helped her earn her high school diploma, start college and regain custody of her 10-year-old daughter." />
 <figcaption>Sierra Carrasco, 29, said drug court has helped her earn her high school diploma, start college and regain custody of her 10-year-old daughter.</figcaption>
 </figure>Sierra Carrasco, 29, also struggled with methamphetamine. She said it cost her everything.Now that she is sober, she has been able to regain custody of her 10-year-old daughter. She earned her high school diploma. She's attending college and hopes to pursue a career as an alcohol and drug addition counselor, a choice she said was inspired by her experiences in drug court."The best advice I can give my fellow drug peers is don't let anyone label you. I have my share of problems, but I didn't let anyone tell me who I was or what I was supposed to be,"&nbsp; Carrasco said during graduation.&nbsp;She said she discovered who she wanted to be and how she wanted to live her life."I figured out that drugs weren't going to get me anywhere in life, ever ... ever," she said.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1576536377184.jpeg" alt="Nicole Pfeifer addresses the crowd at her drug court graduation." />
 <figcaption>Nicole Pfeifer addresses the crowd at her drug court graduation.</figcaption>
 </figure>Ashlee Forde will be clean a year in January. She said this is the longest she has been clean in 12 years. She also will be eligible to regain custody of her children in March."I have the best life right now," she said. "Yes, I still have my ups and downs. Don't get my wrong, all of us will. It's not something that is going to change overnight."As long as you keep the faith and realize you are a whole strong person — more than you ever realized — you will be able to do it."According to the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, the courts save up to $13,000 for every person served, and&nbsp;75 percent of graduates do not reoffend."Basically the creators of drug court identified that you can't keep throwing an addict back into jail," Teresa Greenwood said. "It doesn't attack the addiction."<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1576536408890.jpeg" alt="Chief Judge for the 23rd Judicial District and Drug Court Judge Glenn Braun addresses the drug court graduates during a ceremony Thursday." />
 <figcaption>Chief Judge for the 23rd Judicial District and Drug Court Judge Glenn Braun addresses the drug court graduates during a ceremony Thursday.</figcaption>
 </figure>Chief Judge for the 23rd Judicial District and Drug Court Judge Glenn Braun said Thursday presiding over the drug court graduation was one of the highlights of his legal career."When we started drug court, I had great hopes," he told the graduates. "You can ask our team, I start a lot of our sessions with, 'I know they are going to break our hearts, but let's get started.' We know how difficult the process is and the struggles you had to overcome."Braun continued,&nbsp;"We've got to know you. We've watched you progress, and it has just been an absolute joy."Several of the graduates during remarks during the ceremony urged others still working through drug court to persevere."If you are just starting drug court," Bryant said in his graduation speech, "they give you what you need. You can change, and life is so much better."If you look around right now, all of your using buddies, your 'friends' are not here supporting you. Those of us here who have found recovery and sobriety, we are all here to help."<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1576536436851.jpeg" alt="Dustin McNeill's arrest mug shot can be seen behind him during drug court graduation Thursday." />
 <figcaption>Dustin McNeill's arrest mug shot can be seen behind him during drug court graduation Thursday.</figcaption>
 </figure>Teresa Greenwood received the&nbsp;the 2019 Rick Land Mental Toughness Extra Effort Award from the Kansas Association of Court Services Officers for her work with the drug court.The Heartland Community Foundation provided a grant for incentives for the drug court participants, who received small-denomination gift cards for reaching certain milestones in the program. Walmart provided a match for the incentive program. Dillons also gave to the incentive program.&nbsp;<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/5df3d3f9c2f9fe096b7d55c6">Drug court also recently received a&nbsp;$406,366 federal Department of Justice grant, much of that money will be used for treatment.</a>

Drug court helps graduates escape lives of addiction