Rules to force addicts into rehab

From ABC Stateline Victoria: March 19, 2010 8:30 AEDT;

"Revamped legislation has sparked debate about the value of forcing chronic alcoholics and drug addicts into rehab."

JOSEPHINE CAFAGNA, PRESENTER: "A new bill now being considered by the Victorian Parliament will give authorities the power to detain drug addicts and alcoholics and force them to undergo detox programs. Some agencies are concerned this type of forced withdrawal will become an acceptable form of treatment. The State Government says the bill is designed only to apply to a handful of the most extreme cases. Cheryl Hall reports."

CHERYL HALL: "While this patient has volunteered for treatment, a bill now before State Parliament, the Severe Substance Treatment Bill, will allow authorities to force some drug addicts and alcoholics to undergo withdrawal."

MEGHAN FITZGERALD, FITZROY LEGAL SERVICE: "A warrant can be obtained to enter their home. They can be restrained and taken to a medical practitioner. Once they're in the treatment facility, they don't have a right to refuse treatment. If they leave the facility they can also be restrained and sedated to be brought back into the facility. So what you're looking at is a sort of situation where there can be quite a lot of, for want of a better word, violence that a person's experiencing."

CHERYL HALL: "The Fitzroy Legal Service says the bill contravenes human rights and could target more than the handful of severe cases that it's intended for."

Full:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/video/2010/03/19/2851151.htm

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• rapid detox
• forced detoxification
• victoria
• fitzroy legal service
• naltrexone
• right to health
• rights abuse
• revolving door policy