I am an alumni of the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office Drug Farm Program, and I'm writing this petition today August 19th, 2016 to reopen both the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office Drug Farm Program and the Eagle's Academy Program. Myself, along with several other Alumni and former staff members believe that it is time to bring back these two successful programs as an answer to the growing problems that have come about over the last six years as a result their closing. The decision to close these programs was made during a difficult time, a time when our entire nation was caught in the midst of a financial crisis. In those times the tough decision had to be made, but now is not that time anymore. We are no longer standing on the edge of a cliff, staring into the abyss. We still need change however, and now is the time to do it; now is the time to bring back the Eagles Academy, now is the time to bring back the Drug Farm.

                Even in the present, drug addiction is a major problem without any type of definitive solutions available. Currently, addiction treatment in Palm Beach County has for the most part been left in the hands of the private sector, but this has not proven to be an effective approach, and has not even come close to delivering the results provided by the Drug Farm and Eagle's Academy programs. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the relapse rates of private sector substance abuse treatment centers are between 50% and 90%, which translates to success rates of between 10% and 40%. However, according to SAAP (Palm Beach Sheriff's Office Substance Abuse Awareness Program), the Drug Farm and Eagle's Academy were able to achieve a 68% success rate in October 2009. The numbers show that these programs can offer much greater success than the private, for-profit option. It's simple, really; would you want a system that works less than half the time?

                The Drug Farm program has done so much for me that every day I am alive is a gift I may never be able to repay. This gift has been given to me under one condition, which is that I become a contributing member of society. I feel that I have done that, and then some. I have spent the past several years working in the field of substance abuse treatment, trying to give back what was so freely given to me. However, I am not alone in this as many of the Drug Farm and Eagle's Academy alumni are now contributing members of society, tax paying citizens, and voting constituents of this county. What we would like to say to all the men and women that worked in and ran these programs is to say that to call you heroes is an understatement, and we love you all.

                Now for why we need the Drug Farm and Eagle's Academy back. As I mentioned before, substance abuse treatment in Palm Beach County is now almost entirely in the hands of private entities. Profit, rather than rehabilitation and recovery, are the primary motivation for these organizations and many have now fallen to engaging in unethical and illegal activities to increase their returns as reported by news agencies such the Palm Beach Post and Vice News. Even as I write this, there is a Sober Homes Task Force headed by State Attorney Dave Aronberg that is actively investigating allegations of widespread corruption in the industry.