In likely all 50 states, if a family member, doctor, or police officer says you are crazy/need help, that is enough to summon 2 psychiatrists to come interview you. You have to do the interview. If they say you are a danger to yourself or others, they can have you committed for 72 hours. During that 72 hours, the psychiatrist who runs the facility you will be treated at can drug (treat) you. The facilities typically charge $5000 per day. You will be asked whether you volunteer to stay longer than 72 hours. If you say you want a trial, you will be told that if you lose, they can hold you 4 months until another trial. Also, if you are involuntarily committed, you will permanently lose your gun rights. The trial is not public and is just decided by a mental health judge. Most people choose "voluntary" commitment after being told that. Thus, the facilities boast that most of the people there are voluntarily. If you don't have the money to pay $5000 per day, then they can bill your parents, spouse, and adult kids for it. Does this need reforming? I think it can be used as a way to silence political protesters. That happened in Russia under Stalin. Also, Britney spears was locked up. I think the family members who asked her to be locked up wanted her money. The psychiatrist made the person who turned her in in charge of her money.
You get some things wrong. They can not bill anyone other than the person (or their parents). Your spouse is part of your bills. Also it is VERY difficult to get committed. I did it for people all the time.
Enforcement of the below law prior to involuntary commitment would prevent commitment and countless other problems burdening the system and exposing the public to extreme danger, death, suffering injury and prison. But look what the courts government health care and law enforcement actually do. The inability to recognize, follow and uphold laws relating to developing effective mental health care is a dynamic public disaster. A letter admitting to failure to appear on subpoena. The subpoenaed evidence would have proven something that could force psychology to oppose the church/state licensure authority. That would have been happening by 2000. But no, failure to appear is okay when pleadings are filed indicating homicides and suicides were caused by missing records subpoenaed. Evidence proving that other court records were absent. This declaration show the records were in possession of the county a year earlier. The sheriffs dept lied in the letter at the direction of the county counsel. How 'bout that ! Public law enforcement employees paid to violate laws then collude to lie about it! Evading compliance with health and safety code, drug and alcohol, effective mental health care. The entities both collectively obstructing justice, and judges are okay with it. Here's a woman judge ignoring a huge mound of evidence showing a part time meth lab, hah, "fire in bed of pickup parked at curb," in a house where I rented a room. http://algoxy.com/law/ud.glenbrook/sbmethcook+court.html Ever since the US military has been in Afghanistan heroin has gotten much more available and much cheaper. Remember the bodies of dead soldiers returning from Vietnam filled with bags of heroin? There is a history of this. Here's s letter from Santa Barbara counties top mental health professional showing a defacto approval of a potentially effective, new treatment. Actually old treatment, 1970's, shunned by church interests controlling gov. A FOIA was ignored for that "written response". Filed with the clerk of the board after serving on supervisors, then disappeared, then re filed. Then I try to get the paper to do a story about a federal law suit and history of law violation by Santa Barbara county related to the development of effective mental health. http://algoxy.com/law/no_free_press/sbsecretsofmedia.html 17 reporters and editors fired, then gagged starting 2 weeks after dropping off a copy of the lawsuit to a reporter of the santa barbara newspress The district court secretly revised 1885 local court rules providing justice to pro se civil rights suits about 6 months prior and the new judge our suit should have gotten didn't happen. This is gov violating law Immorally, unethically and illegally evading development of effective mental health care that could help addicts stop themselves. Your points are valid, but the problem is far, far greater than you portray. The problem starts at the top, so discourse on fixing it needs to begin with authority GREATER than the top of government. That is us, the people. We need to understand then use our lawful and peaceful revolution.
Brittney Spears was publicly acting very bizarrely. In terms of the rest, there are enough checks and balances that the obviously crazy aren't being put away.
I am really not sure. I have been involuntarily committed to the psychiatric unit of hospitals in the past because of suicidal thoughts and attempts and I am sure it helped me. I hated being there but it was for my own safety.
