Ability to commit a person against their will for drug rehab

[Alana Marsh]

My sister has a very serious prescription drug dependency.  She also has other mental health problems.  She has overdosed 4 times and each occurrence could have resulted in her death if she hadn't been found in time.  

Our family has pressured her to get help, but she claims that she doesn't have a problem with drugs.  She argued this point in the hospital after each overdose.  Under family pressure, she has gone to 3 different hospitals (one was a rehab center, the other two were mental health facilities), but only stayed for a very short time, refusing extended treatment.

We're becoming desperate.  She badly needs help, and our question is:  How can we force her to get help?  Is it possible to get her committed to a rehab center for an extended period of time?  We realize that the individual has certain rights, but we fully expect her to overdose and kill herself unless she is forced to get proper help.  

Can you give us any guidance?  Thanks you very much.

[Sharon Woodall]

After reading some of the postings, I have been compelled to write regarding the use of Methodone. I have seen in other places on this forum that for hydrocodone addiction alone that you can not get into a Methdone treatment clinic. Yes, it was orignally began because of heroin abuse, but I guess as the drug use went up with other drugs, Methodone is an accepted alternative with other drugs other than heroin. You can get into a clinic with "just" a hydrocodne or oxycodone abuse problem. I am talking about the abuse of the above 2 drugs with the abuse going on for several years to the point where it has gotten out of hand. A freind of mine who has never touched heroin recently got into a meth clinic with the abuse of the hydrocodone and oxycodone problem. My point is --it can be done--and after he was accepted he found out that there were many many people there for that reason alone. So if anyone tells you can't get into a clinic with "just" a hydroconde or oxycodone problem--that is simply not true!! My friend over the past month has regained is life--no more cravings for the use of the other drugs, and he has been able to begin to put his life back together!! Yes, it is a pain in the behind to drive 7 days a weeks to get his "dose", but it has worked for him. Also, if you are in pain--pain clinics will prescribe methodone as a treatment for pain and does not have the stigma that I hear so much about at the clinics. You can receive a prescription in pill form and the cost is very low (35.00 per month depending on the milligram) Just wanted to to leave the information here as I have seen in other parts of this forum that a clinic will not accept you with "just" a hydrocodone or oxycodone problem. Thanks!

[Brighty to Debra]

I am still praying for you. As you can see, it's very difficult to get help... .even with insurance if the doctor releases the person then you are in the same situation. Even in states with a Baker Act the confinement time is only 72 hours.... just enough for the person to come down, agree they will look into getting further help and they are released. Now you see what everyone here means when they say the person with the addiction has to want to be well and they have to do it themselves. I have asked around about your situation. Tammy has addiction and it may be that she also has a mental disorder which is very common with addiction. You can call your state mental hospital and explain your situation and they may advise you of any procedures to have her evaluated. Try the social worker at the hospital. You can also go to the county court and ( do it in person for the best results) find the office where you can sit and explain this situation. You may be able to have her committed for a short period of time ( similar to Baker Act) so she can be evalutated at least. The other thing you may want to do is more difficult but it is feasible. You can go before a judge and ask for "custody" and they may grant you a custody hearing. You will have to have the family plead that your sister is so mentally ill from her addiction and possible other mental disorders that she is incompetent to make her own decisions. You may have to cite any suicide or overdoses and other irrational actions. If you and the family (or certain family members) are granted custody then you can make the life saving decisions that she is unable or unwilling to make. While she may not decide to get clean ( nobody can do that for her) you may be successful in getting her confined somehow until her head clears or she is given treatment. As awful as the state mental hospital may sound, she's better off there on medicine and locked in and observed than being dead. I personally believe that drug use is the main cause of mental illness in our society and unfortunately it is viewed as a "choice" and therefore it's hard to get the person controlled. If your sister were acting this way naturally then you would have been able to have her committed a long time ago. Keep trying. I know how hard it is to keep a loved one alive. I have been there also. It seems that the main thing here is to get her forced into some clean time so she can rationalize better or to legally have her choices removed so you can make them for her. I hope you and Philisha and other family members stay right on top of this. Her life is valuable and will God's help you can do it. Love, Brighty

[Debra Thrasher]

Thanks for your answer and prayers,I don,t know if the Bakers Act applies here in Alabama,I,m trying to find that out. Three weeks ago my niece come to my house because Tammy was in such bad shape(they have a mobile home in our yard) she had left her a note saying that she was here and her brothers dad had come and got him,so as a result she showed up at my door, she could hardly walk or talk, we had words,she screaming and cursing at me and Philisha,my kids were there also,she was so out of control I,ve never seen her that bad, I told Philisha to call the police,(we live in a very small town where everybody knows each other)I was in hopes of getting her some help by doing this,the city,county and a DEA agent showed up, they gave her a choice jail or hospital she finally agreed to the hospital,the cheif of police said they would take her to another local county hospital because they had a 400 unit and they would keep her at least 24hr but they did,t she was turned loose in couple of hrs, probaly because she did,t have Ins., I talked to the judge the next day and she said pretty much the same as what i,ve read here.So i,m supposed to sit by and wait till she OD or what ever this really hard for me to do. Well thanks again for your help.

[Brighty to Debra]

You can be assured the I will pray for Tammy and also for your family. I am not sure if the Baker Act is the same in all states so I do hope someone with some legal knowledge can reply. Here in Florida it's a mandated 72 hour period of observation of a patient in a psychiatric ward to determine if they are a danger to themselves or others. If a person is "Baker Acted" it means that something happened and they were ordered into this 72 hour observation. If a person is standing on the edge of a bridge and the police are called about a suicide attempt and they rescue the person then he/she is "Baker Acted" for observation. Generally you cannot Baker Act someone just because they are on drugs even if they have a history of overdose.  The law does not officially consider drug addiction a mental illness even though we all know it is. But if a person is on drugs and behaving violently, if they overdose even accidentally, if they are acting weird and psychotic then a call to the police and or crisis unit will usually result in a "Baker Act." You don't always have to call the police. If you take someone to the ER for suicide attempt, drug related or not, the ER will usually set the Baker Act. When the person is medically stable the person has to then begin the 72 hours of observation. They are transported to a psych facility if there is not one in the hospital. In the next 72 hours the patient is seen by a team of psychiatrists and if for some reason they are not safe to release they can be RE-baker Acted. An example would be if they are still talking suicide or still in a mentally unstable state or expressing to hurt someone or themselves. Generally though, in 72 hours most people, even if they are seriously addicted, are released. Most people want to get out so they display the appropriate behavior. Remember, a Baker Act is NOT drug treatment. The law is designed as a time out period and still has to protect the rights of the patient. Usually a drug addict will be released unless they voluntarily sign themselves to a longer stay or agree to move to a treatment facility. In the case of your sister... you really have to petition the courts and get as much medical and psychiatric evidence as you can and present it to the judge.If she is diagnosed with another mental illness such as severe Bi-Polar you may have some success in detaining her. But to just force someone into a rehab so they don't overdose again is nearly impossible. I guess you could say that the law recognizes the ultimate right to die by overdose.  Essentially, it is much easier to Baker Act someone in the middle of a crisis where emergency staff are called to help. To commit someone by petitioning the court outside of a crisis situation is harder. Call the clerk of your local county court and they will direct you. Generally you need to prove that the person needs to be committed to some sort of treatment. This is not easy to do. The only other hope may be that your sister gets in trouble with the law. Most courts now are opting to mandate drug offenders into treatment as the alternative to jail. Then the probation afterwards will include drug testing. More and more families are writing to the judge or prosecutor in these cases and asking that their family member be sentenced to long term treatment. I see it here in Florida all the time. I have actually heard families and addicts say that getting arrested and charged was the best thing that ever happened to them. They knew that they would have to face mandated treatment. No, you can't force someone to get off drugs. It has to be something they want. But many people are really happy inside for the mandate because they really want to be free and finally decide to go for it.

[debra]

I,ve been reading all the postings and seen where my niece Philisha had posted about her mother, which is my sister,(younger) i have tried many many times over the past year& half to help her,in driffrent ways she always gets mad and resents me for it. we lost our mother to cancer,it will be 2 years May 28 and her problem has gotton worse since then,she has 2 children,17 and 11 she with me (my niece) and my nephew is with his dad. i thought for sure losing her kids would make her want help, but it did,nt. i even tried getting a court order, i was told even if they gave me one she could leave the rehab when ever she got ready. this law needs to changed. i,m terrified that i (we) will lose her too. i pray all the time for her so do other family and friends.we lost our dad when we young,so it was me my sister,brother and mother until we lost her, it has been really hard for all of us. my sister has alot of quilt because she was,nt there as much as she could have been if it was,nt  for her addiction, this much she has told me. PLEASE PUT MY SISTER IN YOUR PRAYERS her name is Tammy.  what is the Bakers Law .

[debra]

I,ve been reading all the postings and seen where my niece Philisha had posted about her mother, which is my sister,(younger) i have tried many many times over the past year& half to help her,in driffrent ways she always gets mad and resents me for it. we lost our mother to cancer,it will be 2 years May 28 and her problem has gotton worse since then,she has 2 children,17 and 11 she with me (my niece) and my nephew is with his dad. i thought for sure losing her kids would make her want help, but it did,nt. i even tried getting a court order, i was told even if they gave me one she could leave the rehab when ever she got ready. this law needs to changed. i,m terrified that i (we) will lose her too. i pray all the time for her so do other family and friends.we lost our dad when we young,so it was me my sister,brother and mother until we lost her, it has been really hard for all of us. my sister has alot of quilt because she was,nt there as much as she could have been if it was,nt  for her addiction, this much she has told me. PLEASE PUT MY SISTER IN YOUR PRAYERS her name is Tammy.  what is the Bakers Law .