Posted on Thu, Nov. 14, 2002 story:PUB_DESC Dawson enters drug program Treatment will determine fate of state senator BY BRAD BENNETT bbennett@herald.com

DAWSON

Fresh off a successful re-election bid but facing prescription drug-fraud charges, state Sen. Mandy Dawson on Wednesday entered a drug treatment program sanctioned by a Broward court.

If the Fort Lauderdale Democrat completes the yearlong pretrial intervention program, the charges against her -- obtaining and attempting to obtain controlled substances by fraud -- will be dropped, according to her lawyer and a prosecutor.

Although the charges were filed in Tallahassee, a Leon County judge agreed to transfer them to the Broward Circuit Court because Dawson lives in Broward.

If convicted of the third-degree felony, she would automatically be removed from office.

But during a news conference today, Dawson plans to announce her intention to serve out the four-year term to which she was easily re-elected last Tuesday.

''I don't drink and I don't do any drugs,'' Dawson said after her appearance before Broward Circuit Judge Marcia Beach on Wednesday. ``It is a way of life that I adopted 14 years ago.''

She said she has only used legal painkillers following spinal surgery earlier this year.

For several weeks, she has been involved in a treatment program in which she learns how to deal with her pain without using drugs.

''The good news is it's been a great education for me,'' she said.

Her attorney, Johnny L. McCray Jr., said Leon County prosecutors did not object to having Dawson enter drug court.

Nor did they object to transferring the case to Broward, he said.

''She lives here,'' he said. ``She's here most of the time.''

Neither prosecutors nor Dawson's lawyer would disclose exactly where or when Dawson entered the treatment program, citing confidentiality laws.

But the court officially sanctioned the treatment program that Dawson's lawyers presented on Wednesday.

''The pain management program that I'm in is probably something that I'll have access to for the rest of my life,'' she said, adding that she hopes to inspire others in similar circumstances. ``There are options. People don't have to live in pain.''

Despite her recent missteps, Dawson overwhelmingly defeated challenger Fred Segal, who has no party affiliation, in the District 29 race. The district snakes along Interstate 95 between Fort Lauderdale and Riviera Beach.

She handily beat newcomer Corey Alston in the Sept. 10 primary.

But last month, Dawson allegedly changed a 60-pill prescription for the painkiller Lorcet-10 to one for 160 pills at a Tallahassee Publix pharmacy. One of her lawyers entered a not-guilty plea on her behalf in Tallahassee.

She turned herself in to the Leon County Jail on the charges, and was immediately released on a $2,500 bond.

She pleaded not guilty again on Wednesday in the Broward courtroom, which now has jurisdiction over the case.

The courtroom was filled with more than 40 other people who also sought to enter a court-sanctioned drug treatment program, Assistant State Attorney James DeHart said.

''It allows a person charged with such a crime to have prosecution deferred,'' DeHart said. Dawson was allowed to enter the program because she has not been convicted of a felony, has not entered the program before, and is not suspected of dealing or selling illegal drugs, DeHart said.

Her outpatient program will allow her to seek treatment while living at home. Although she must regularly report to drug treatment and to the courts to stay in the program, she will have the freedom to travel back and forth to Tallahassee.

Her next court date is Jan. 7, McCray said.

''She just checks in,'' he said. ``I think she comes in every 30 days. The judge wants to know how she's doing.''

-- Anonymous, November 14, 2002