main idea? ELIGIBILITY FOR DRUG COURT. Drug courts are specifically for nonviolent drug offenders with at least a moderate substance abuse problem. The offenders may be misdemeanants or felons, and they must voluntarily agree to participate. An initial substance abuse assessment determines eligibility for program participa tion (Alarid, Montemayor, & Dannhaus, 2012). About half of drug courts are pre-adjudication, which means that upon successful completion of a drug court program, charges are dismissed. Post-adjudication drug courts usually mean that following a plea of guilty the sentence remains, but the defendant stays out of jail. If pre-adjudication offenders withdraw or are terminated from a program without successful completion, they are charged and tried for the original offense and sentenced accordingly