Dr. Drew was a guest speaker at this year's Baldwin County Drug Court Foundation fundraiser

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – Large sums of money were raised for a big problem on Tuesday evening. The Baldwin County Drug Court Foundation hosted its annual fundraiser with guest speaker Dr. Drew.

It's their biggest fundraiser of the year. The money raised will help continue the mission of the Baldwin County Drug Court. In the 17th year, part of the proceeds will flow into ongoing training.

“Because the drug scene is constantly changing and you have to know what works and what the new drugs are – what the new treatment programs are – and we continue to evolve as the drug scene evolves,” said Baldwin County District Attorney Robert Wilters.

Former FOX 10 meteorologist Chasity Byrd led the discussion with this year's guest speaker, Dr. Drew Pinsky.

“This is a model of how it should be done. And so congratulations to everyone who supports this,” said Dr. Drew the crowd.

Drew is passionate about fighting drug abuse – says Dr. Drew: “He’s out of control” – adding that there’s still a lot of work to be done to break down the stigma of getting help.

“The body gets sick, the heart gets sick, the pancreas gets sick… the brain gets sick. There is nothing special about brain diseases – except that they affect the organ associated with our perception, our personality, our will and our motivation. And this is a motivational disorder – a disorder of the brain – and should be treated no differently than any other disorder of other parts of the body. And the fact that we stigmatize brain disease is, to me, just the strangest thing in the world,” said Dr. Drew.

It is a two-year program. Anyone who agrees to receive help must be clean and not have passed a drug test in the last year.

Baldwin County District Attorney Robert Wilters says when they started, crack was the big drug…now it's fentanyl again – the drug scene is constantly changing. Wilters said Drug Court, with the help of its sponsors and stakeholders, continues to help consumers get to the other side of addiction.

“We probably have a 75% to 80% success rate – for those who successfully complete Drug Court – and remain clean and sober for at least three years. So that’s huge,” Wilters said.

One of these success stories is Marshall Metz, who completed the program in 2019. For the past four years, he has worked for the Baldwin County Drug Court, reaching those who need it most.

“One of the biggest factors is that I remember when – and the look on their face that shows them that I was where they were – that gives them hope. When someone is able to instill hope in another person, it gives them faith that they are capable of doing that,” Metz said.

In Mobile County, they are in the process of overhauling the drug court program, now under the direction of Judge Jennifer Wright.

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