NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — On Monday, Feb. 9, at the Newport Beach Harbor Justice Center, Judge Richard Pacheco heard multiple cases involving people struggling with substance use disorder, underscoring the challenges courts face in balancing accountability, treatment and public safety. In court that day, two women’s cases highlighted the fragile path between recovery and relapse.
The first accused was brought to court by her mother. Through the use of a translator, the mother addressed the court with her concern: “I am very worried because my daughter got out of the program and she is drinking again and not doing well… she needs to go back to the program where she was at.”
Her daughter had been enrolled in an inpatient substance use program called OCEAN. The accused stated that she had found a job in Los Angeles and moved there, and therefore her move interrupted her progress in the program.
Judge Pacheco granted her until March 11 to find a new program, and her mother, though she has a restraining order against the accused, spoke to her attorney because she had identified other programs she wanted for her daughter.
The mother also expressed concern that her daughter’s boyfriend is also drinking and not doing well, and suggested the accused may have left the program because it did not allow boyfriends. The mother also revealed that her daughter had been in her former neighborhood to visit people she believed were connected to her daughter’s unhealthy habits.
In a separate case heard Monday, another accused pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia. She has been unhoused since graduating from a court-ordered inpatient program and has had no income since October 2025.
Despite her efforts to find work, she is still unemployed, though she has been sober for three months. Judge Pacheco waived her fines under those circumstances.
Judge Pacheco also warned the accused that one can never know what substances may be present in drugs bought on the street, cautioning that “we don’t want to end up reading about you.” Yet, the criminal justice system ultimately releases the accused back to the streets with no additional support in place.
Both individuals, though facing different circumstances, are encountering significant hardship in reintegrating into society. Research shows many people involved in the U.S. criminal justice system do not receive adequate evidence-based treatment for substance use disorders, and high relapse and re-arrest rates are well documented.
Research further indicates that substance use disorder is not based solely on individual behavior but is shaped by broader social and environmental factors. A 2021 meta-analysis published in Addictive Behaviors found a positive association between homelessness and substance use, substance use disorders and overdose death.
Mandy Owens and Barbara McCrady published a study finding that “social networks significantly predicted substance use after release from jail.” The study concluded that social networks “may operate as dynamic factors in relapse.” The Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions similarly advocates for addressing “dynamic risk factors associated with justice involvement and social determinants of health.”
One country addressing this range of contributing factors is Portugal, which continues to experience drug use rates below the European Union average. People found in possession of illicit substances are referred to a dissuasion committee, which may recommend voluntary treatment if substance use is deemed problematic.
At Centro das Taipas in Portugal, the director of Lisbon’s largest treatment center described how social workers “first assess the person’s housing and family situation, economic security, access to education, and other social supports.” This holistic approach has contributed to Portugal having the lowest drug-related death rate in the EU, with six deaths per million people ages 15 to 24.
Some scholars argue that if the justice system is to reduce future harm and support rehabilitation, it must adopt more comprehensive strategies that address underlying social determinants of substance use — such as housing instability and social support — rather than relying on punitive measures alone.
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