The Hillsdale drug court colors system works like this: at intake, a coordinator assigns you a color, and every day you call the hotline at 517-437-7758, extension 518, or check the drug court page at hillsdalecounty.gov to see which colors have been called. If your color comes up, you report for a drug and alcohol test that day. If you miss the check or skip the test, the court treats it as a violation.1Hillsdale County. Drug Court (All Courts)
How Your Color Gets Assigned
A drug court coordinator assigns your color when you enter the program, and it stays with you until you graduate or leave. The assignment is random, and the daily call is random, so there is no way to predict when you’ll be tested. That unpredictability is the whole point. Michigan law requires drug treatment courts to use “mandatory periodic and random testing” to confirm participants are staying sober.2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.1072
On any given day the court picks one or more colors. On June 8, 2026, for example, the Hillsdale hotline listed Red and Purple.1Hillsdale County. Drug Court (All Courts) If you were Red, you tested. If you were Blue, Green, or anything else, you didn’t. But you still had to check, because there was no way to know in advance.
Checking the Hotline or Website Every Day
You check every single day. Weekends. Holidays. National best-practice standards for drug courts require that the probability of being tested on a weekend or holiday is the same as on any other day, and skipping the check because you assumed your color wouldn’t come up is not a defense.
The number is 517-437-7758, extension 518. The same colors appear on the county’s drug court page. A separate line, extension 232, handles general program questions.1Hillsdale County. Drug Court (All Courts) Check first thing in the morning. Set a daily alarm. Build it into your routine the way you’d build in taking medication, because the one day you forget is the day your color gets called.
Reporting for the Test When Your Color Is Called
When your color appears, report to the testing location within the timeframe your handbook specifies. The Hillsdale County Drug Court office sits inside the county courthouse at 29 N. Howell Street, Hillsdale, MI 49242, and regular hours run Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.1Hillsdale County. Drug Court (All Courts) Your handbook will list the exact reporting window and any other collection sites. Arriving late is usually treated the same as not showing up, so give yourself extra time.
Expect to identify yourself and provide a specimen under direct observation. Observed collection is standard because it prevents tampering and keeps results admissible. You’ll sign chain-of-custody paperwork; keep your confirmation receipt. That receipt is your proof of compliance if anything is disputed later.
What Counts as a Missed or Failed Test
The court has broad discretion when something goes wrong, and Michigan law directs drug treatment courts to use “graduated sanctions and rewards” in response.3Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.1060 – Definitions The common violations tied to the color system are:
- Missing a test. Not showing up when your color is called, whether you forgot to check or chose not to report.
- Testing positive. Any detected substance, alcohol included, triggers a response.
- Diluted or tampered specimens. Samples are routinely checked for dilution and adulteration, and a suspicious sample is not treated as a clean result.
- New criminal charges. The judge must be notified and will consider removing you from the program. A new felony conviction generally means automatic termination unless the prosecutor agrees otherwise.4Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.1074
Sanctions run from a verbal warning in open court up to jail time. In between sit community service, increased testing frequency, house arrest, and a full day of sitting in the courtroom observing proceedings. The judge and the drug court team decide together, weighing the severity of the violation and your overall record. Repeated problems can lead to a show-cause hearing where you have to convince the court to let you stay.
Medical Marijuana and Prescriptions
Drug court testing covers controlled substances and alcohol, and Michigan law calls for blood, urine, or breath testing “using to the extent practicable the best available, accepted, and scientifically valid methods.”2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.1072 Urine is the most common specimen, but the court can require a breath test or other collection any time.
Medical marijuana is where participants get tripped up. Michigan amended its laws so that drug treatment court rules take precedence over the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act when they conflict. The judge decides whether medical marijuana is appropriate for your situation or whether alternatives exist. A card is not a shield. Unless you have explicit written approval from the drug court, using marijuana will be treated as a positive test.
Prescription medications call for the same caution. Disclose every prescription to the court and your treatment provider. Controlled-substance prescriptions for pain, anxiety, or sleep can produce a positive screen, and the court will want documentation from your prescribing doctor confirming the medication is medically necessary and being taken as directed.
Rewards for Staying on Track
The color system feeds a reward side too. Michigan law requires both sanctions for noncompliance and rewards for compliance, and Hillsdale follows that model.3Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.1060 – Definitions Incentives start small and grow: verbal praise from the judge in open court, reduced supervision, fewer probation check-ins, more relaxed curfew, later overnight travel privileges, and eventual advancement to a phase with lighter testing.
Why Consistency Matters
The daily check is worth the effort because of what happens at the end. If the court deferred entering a judgment of guilt when you were admitted, completing the program lets the court discharge and dismiss the original charges.5Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.1070 Not every case qualifies. If the agreement with the prosecutor didn’t include discharge and dismissal, or if you pled guilty to a traffic offense, the court enters a judgment of guilt and moves to sentencing, though completion usually still produces a more favorable sentence than you’d face outside the program.
Termination cuts the other way. If you’re removed from the program or fail to complete it, the court enters the adjudication that was deferred at intake and sentences you on the original charges. A record of the sentence and your unsuccessful participation goes to the Michigan State Police criminal justice information center and into the law enforcement information network.6Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.1076 – Completion or Termination of Drug Treatment The original sentencing exposure comes back, plus a documented record of program failure. That’s why the color check demands absolute consistency: one hotline call a day is the smallest part of the program and the one that most often decides how it ends.