NATCHEZ — The road from drug user to drug-free can be a long and harrowing one, but five Adams County Youth Drug Court graduates stood tall and smiling Tuesday when they were presented their drug court diplomas.

The youth drug court requires juvenile offenders to undergo treatment and counseling while having to submit to random drug testing and make regular court appearances. The program takes approximately nine months, and includes an after-care program.

“I have been waiting for this day forever,” graduate Daniel Farmer said. “No matter how long I had to wait, it was worth it.”

Graduates thanked their families and the drug court staff.

“There were good times and there were bad times — and there were bad times — but (Counselor Quatina Kim Proby) kept hammering me on it,” one graduate said.

Judge John Hudson called the day a hallmark, and compared the graduate’s work toward graduation to a war.

“It wasn’t easy, we know it was sometimes very tough,” Hudson said. “You have stood up to those demons and set them aside.”

The keynote speaker at the graduation, Mississippi Department of Human Services Executive Director Don Thompson, said his participation in the graduation was one of the great honors of his life.

“I am going to tell you to do something with yourself, and you have already proven you can,” he told the graduates.

During the ceremony, the families of the graduates were allowed to say a few words.

One graduate’s grandmother said she saw divine guidance leading up to the graduation.

“We are here to witness what God has allowed to transpire,” she said. “You all are on Straight Street now.”

Likewise, another graduate’s mother told graduates that it is up to them to be models for those who would follow them through the program, and Farmer’s mother, Teresa Price, warned them not to stray from the straight and narrow.

“The only person who you should follow is yourself,” Price said. “Don’t follow someone else because they might be the wrong person to follow.”

Along with their diplomas, the graduates were presented with a $100 savings bond and a gift certificate to either Rue 21 or Sportscenter.