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Newsbrief:
Kentucky
Bill
Would
Let
Families
Commit
Drug
Users
to
Rehab
11/28/03
A bill that would allow drug
users to be involuntarily committed to drug treatment centers has been
introduced in the Kentucky General Assembly. The bill, the "Matthew
Casey Wethington Act for Substance Abuse Prevention," would allow family
members, friends, or anyone else, for that matter, to petition a Kentucky
court seeking the involuntary commitment of a "drug abuser." Wethington
was a 22-year-old Morning View man who died of a heroin overdose last year.
Under current Kentucky law,
no adult can be forced to seek drug treatment. But under the bill
pre-filed for the 2004 session by state Rep. Thomas Kerr (R-Taylor Mill),
a longtime friend of the Wethington family, that would change, with drug
users facing the same sort of involuntary commitment procedures used against
mentally ill people who are found to be a danger to themselves or others.
Friends or relatives of drug
users could petition for a treatment commitment hearing from a district
court judge. If, after hearing a doctor's evaluation, the judge deems
the person a danger to himself or others, that person could be committed
to a treatment center for 60 to 360 days. Failure to comply with
a commitment order would be construed as contempt of court, with criminal
penalties.
"The analogy is a person
who suffers from drug abuse really is in the same position as someone with
mental health problems. They've lost the ability to make decisions
for themselves," Kerr told the Kentucky Post last week. "When you
have an individual that's a family member that has drug problems and that
person is an adult, under current law there is nothing a family member
can do to intervene," Kerr said.
Kerr filed a similar bill
this year, but it died in part because of budget concerns. Under
his original bill, Medicaid would have picked up the tab for treatment
costs. In next year's version of the bill, however, the person petitioning
for the involuntary commitment would have to pick up the tab.
The bill will be considered
by the Kentucky General Assembly in its session beginning in January.
Visit http://www.lrc.state.ky.us/record/04rs/HB77/bill.doc
to read the bill online.
-- END --
|
Issue #313, 11/28/03
Editorial: The Presidential Turkeys |
No Prison Time for Defendants in LA Cannabis Resource Center Case -- Judge Criticizes Prosecutors, DEA |
Judge James Gray in Senate Bid -- Will Challenge Boxer, Call for End to Drug War |
Newsbrief: Traffic Stop Not a License for Criminal Investigation, Illinois Supreme Court Says |
Newsbrief: North Carolina Appeals Court Rules Drug Possession a Misdemeanor, Not a Felony |
Newsbrief: Pennsylvania Supreme Court Questions School Drug Testing |
Newsbrief: Kentucky Bill Would Let Families Commit Drug Users to Rehab |
Newsbrief: US Denies Visa to Bolivian Coca Leader Evo Morales |
Newsbrief: Life Without Parole for LSD Manufacture Conspiracy |
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Says |
DRCNet Temporarily Suspending Our Web-Based Write-to-Congress Service Due to Funding Shortfalls -- Your Help Can Bring It Back -- Keep Contacting Congress in the Meantime |
| Perry Fund Accepting Applications for 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 School Years, Providing Scholarships for Students Losing Aid Because of Drug Convictions |
| The Reformer's Calendar
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