Following a routine traffic stop, Carrollton police reported finding a small bag of suspected methamphetamine in Michael Jason Moore’s back pants pocket. In his front pocket, they said, was a bag of marijuana.

If Moore was a first offender, he might get probation and qualify for a court-ordered treatment program, but Moore has faced drug charges before. He actually pleaded guilty to the same charges six months ago, according to Carrollton police Capt. Chris Dobbs.

Police stopped Moore, driving a green Mercury Mountaineer, on Nov. 6 around 3:45 p.m. at the intersection of Stone View Court and Four Notch Road after he was released for the weekend from a rehab center, Dobbs said.

“It’s getting to be more common to see repeat offenders,” Dobbs said. “It’s a revolving door for some people.”

Moore, who will go through the court system again, will lose his first-offender status and be subject to the maximum sentence for each charge, according to Assistant District Attorney Jeff Hunt.

“The first-offender sentence basically says if you do what you are supposed to do, you won’t be a convicted felon,” Hunt said. “But if you violate parole, you can face the maximum.”

That means Moore could face 30 years in prison without probation for the meth charge alone.

“He had a chance and got probation,” Dobbs said. “The second time, yes, I want to see jail time because sometimes that’s what it takes. Some addicts actually go to jail and get help.”

Hunt explained that the system works on a negative and positive incentive basis.

“It’s the carrot in one hand and the stick in the other,” Hunt said. “It gives somebody something to work for, but it also gives them something to avoid.”

According to the Carroll County Drug Court Web site, 75 percent of Drug Court graduates remain arrest-free for two years after they complete the program, which means that an estimated 25 percent face some type of relapse within that time frame.

“Sometimes it doesn’t matter what program they go through,” Hunt said. “Some will backslide.”

Susan Alexander, director of the Carroll County Drug Court, said there are a number of reasons addicts return to drug use.

“There could be 1,001 reasons,” Alexander said. “They could have lost their job, maybe they can’t see their children, maybe they don’t know where to turn. It is all based on the individual situation.”

Though Alexander explained that each individual has his or her own reasons for using drugs, there is one common factor.

“There is some kind of pain they are trying to fix,” she said. “Something they are trying to deal with.”

Moore already went for his first appearance before a judge and was denied bond. He is still being held at the Carroll County jail.