NATCHEZ — For the four graduates of the Adams County Youth Drug Court, Tuesday marked not only their completion of the program, but the start of the next chapter in their lives.

“You don’t have to do drugs to feel important ever again,” speaker Mark Stovall said. “You have a choice right now to put that behind you and move on with your lives.”

Stovall, who is the adolescent services coordinator for the Mississippi Department of Mental Health, Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, spoke to the graduates about overcoming their drug problems and continuing to live a sober life outside of the program.

“A lot of people don’t read the bottom line when it comes to drugs,” he said. “Drugs will take you to jail. They are full of empty promises, and the only way to beat them is to stay away.”

Stovall, who previously struggled with drug addiction himself, said he knows just how hard battling drugs can be.

“There was a point in my life where I couldn’t envision a life without getting high,” he said. “But you have to remember that drugs will beat you down.”

Stovall said it takes change from within to fully get rid of the desire for drugs.

“We can change, and we will change, but we have to make that decision ourselves,” he said. “Changing your lifestyle isn’t going to happen through fear, it has to be a change that you want to make.”

Adams County Youth Court Judge John Hudson handed out the diplomas to the graduates and told the four youths to remember that the ceremony Tuesday was not the end, but the beginning.

“Life is the only thing that is ahead of you,” he said. “And what you choose to do with this opportunity is in your hands.”

Hudson told the graduates that the only thing they need to remember is to make sure they are doing something they love.

“You can do what you want to do,” he said. “You have put these demons behind you, now all you have to do is keep them behind you and move on with your life.”

Stovall also let the graduates know that a life free from drugs is always better than a life with them.

“You can make it and be successful,” he said. “You can have the life you have been dreaming of, all you have to do is keep working.”

Stovall said the most important thing for the graduates to remember is that no matter what happens in life, never turn to drugs for the answer.

The youth drug court is a service provided by the county in which juvenile offenders are required to receive treatment for their addictions.

Random drug screenings and individual and family counseling also play a part in drug court proceedings.

Four 90-day sessions in which court members are found clean of drugs or alcohol and exhibit good behavior are required to graduate from the program completely, but for some students, the process takes longer than that.

Four students were also recognized for advancing to phase II and III in the system.