Pinellas Judge Dee Ann Farnell proceeds over court on Tuesday morning.PINELLAS COUNTY, FL -
The Pinellas County drug court will soon begin a program tailored for young prescription pill abusers. The program, named 'You Can' , will target people ages 18-to-26 who have been arrested for prescription drug use.
It's funded by a $1.3 million dollar federal grant. The grant will cover the costs for three years, and treat 185 offenders.
The program is being modeled after a gender-specific program Pinellas recently concluded....called 'We Can', for women. Pinellas Judge Dee Anna Farnell, who presided over the women's program will also work with this group."So we're going to use what we've learned from in the success with the women and try and reach the young men that are abusing opiates," said Farnell.
Judge Farnell believes the 18-26 age group is the most affected population when it comes to illegal pill use."A lot of the deaths, the overdose deaths, the horrible things it did to their body. Perhaps maybe they thought they were invincible, or perhaps they thought if it was a prescription it couldn't kill you," said Farnell.
Participants are being referred this month, and the specialized drug court sessions are expected to begin in February.
