Diandre Hauser will never use illegal drugs again — for that matter, he plans to never do anything remotely illegal again.

“The trouble just ain’t worth it,” Hauser said. “If it’s against the law, just don’t do it.”

Hauser, 25, was one of two people to graduate Tuesday from Cullman County’s year-long drug court program. The other was Becky McCoy, who could not stay for the whole ceremony because she was anxious to start her trip to Florida and reunite with her family.

“Her family moved to Florida and she stayed to complete the program,” said Cullman County District Judge Kim Chaney. “She serves as a model for the program. She didn’t have a problem all the way through.”

Cullman County District Attorney Wilson Blaylock said the two who graduated are not alone in their success.

“Time and time again, people go through (the program) and lead successful lives,” Blaylock said. “But you’ve got to want to do it. It comes from within.”

As a reward for their efforts, both graduates had their cases dismissed and their pleas of guilt set aside by the court system.

The drug court, which is run by Cullman County District Court Judges Greg Nicholas and Chaney, was instituted almost two years ago. It is designed to break drug users of their addictions while keeping them out of prison and is funded by state grants.

“People tell me drug court is soft on crime,” Chaney said. “If sending people to the penitentiary worked, I would do that.”

Many counties have created drug courts in recent years as a way to cope with the state prison system’s policy on drug addicts. Due to overcrowding, many Alabama prisons release drug addicts — who are typically non-violent offenders — after 90 days despite what a judge has ordered.

Ninety days is not long enough for a user to drop his or her habit, Chaney said.

Hauser, who is a resident of Jefferson County, was arrested on a Marijuana possession charge about a year ago while passing through Cullman from Huntsville. Had he not completed the drug court program, Hauser would have been sentenced to three years in a state penitentiary and fined $3,000 in court costs.

While drug court is preferable to prison, it is hardly an easy task.

“It was rough,” Hauser said. “For the first six months, I had to come through two to three times a week. But I never messed up.”

Hauser said at one point, he was spending around $600 a month on gas to drive back and forth from Jefferson to Cullman County. He said many of his visits involved drug screens, but he also had to attend counseling once a week.

“It’s a great program,” Hauser said.

During the program, participants, who are chosen by the judges and the district attorney, are consistently monitored. The participants are required to plead guilty to usually possession charges before they are allowed to enter the drug court. Their sentences are withheld depending on whether or not they complete the program.

Once in, participants must find a job, pay $175 a month for drug screenings and go through rehab. They must also call an answering machine at the Cullman County Courthouse every day and leave a message about how they are doing.

“They’ve (graduates) done it,” Nicholas told several drug court participants during the graduation ceremony. “If they can do it, you can do it. You’ve just got to make better choices.”