Can I force my child to get drug treatment?

Can I force my child to get drug treatment is the question many parents ask when their loved one that is abusing drugs is absolutely refusing and unwilling to seek help for themselves. It is scary to have a child that is using drugs and drinking dangerously and won’t help themselves. A parent feels as if it is their job to protect their children from pretty much everything. So what can you do as a parent if you have a child who is bad off on drugs and alcohol and won’t go to rehab? Luckily, there are things in place for just this scenario and you can force rehab if it is absolutely necessary. The hope, to force rehab is that the person once they get to rehab would give it a try.

Force rehab with an intervention:

If your child refuses to go to rehab and you must force rehab then staging an intervention may be a way to make that person understand that people care and that their behavior is hurting themselves and the other people around them that they love. Conveniently enough there are people who specialize in helping you stage an intervention with your child to force rehab. It is not recommended that you try to force rehab with an intervention on your own. An intervention is usually a surprise to the person and themore people who are close to that person who can tell him or her how they feel about their drug use and drinking the better because the more it can force rehab with that person. The goal is to show the person how much you care and that they need to get help through a rehab facility.

Force rehab with the Baker act:

If a person is over eighteen that is when the Baker Act would want to be used. If the person you are trying to force rehab with was under eighteen you could simply make them go. Unfortunately if they are over 18 they have a say in the matter and that’s where the Baker Act comes in. The Baker Act or the Florida Mental Health Act of 1971, allows for involuntary examination (what some call emergency or involuntary commitment). It can be initiated by judges, law enforcement officials, physicians, or mental health professionals. There must be evidence that the person:

• Has a mental illness (as defined in the Baker Act)
• Is a harm to self, harm to others, or self-neglectful (as defined in the Baker Act)

Force rehab with the Marchman Act:

The Marchman Act is somewhat similar to the Baker Act (involuntary commitment) and is especially helpful for those individuals who are over the age of 18 and don’t want to seek out help through a rehab on their own. Forcing rehab with the Marchman Act allows you to put an individual in rehab for up to 48 hours without any mental illness or other issues and the hold is usually released after the 48 hours is up unless the person asks for help themselves at that time. Each state has varying laws when it comes to the Marchman Act so if you want to use this to force rehab check out your state’s laws.

If you want to force rehab realize that it may be unrealistic to expect your child to get well. Most addicts and alcoholics have to want help in order to get sober and stay sober. There are many instances though where parents force rehab and the child goes on to live a happy and fulfilling life. In fact if the parents hadn’t forced rehab they may not even be alive today. So if you feel it is necessary never hesitate to force rehab it could save your loved one’s life.

For more information on how to stage an intervention or how to use the Florida Baker Act or Marchman Act to force your loved one to get drug treatment, please give us a call at 800-951-6135.