The extraordinarygrowth in the drug-related criminal caseload during the 1980's and the perceived impact of illicit drugs on public safety in Dade County prompted Florida's Eleventh Judicial Circuit to implement a court-baseddrug abuse treatment approach. The innovation was guided P' y the notion that an effective and flexible , ,imgrarn of court-superviseddrug treatment could reduce demand for illicit drugs and hence involvement in crime and reinvolvement in the court system by substance abusers.