Sorry you are going through this. It must be very unnerving for you. It is sad that even a stint in a psych ward does not always give an accurate diagnosis, especially when it is mixed with substance abuse and other complications. However, I hope they have an impressive discharge plan or court order program that will allow him to get the help that is needed for all issues.
From my experiences, psych wards typically want you out as soon as you are stabilized which is only a few days. They will not release any information without a consent signed by him. However, if you are the person they release him to when he is discharged you will get a copy that indicated the 5 axis diagnosis info and all the meds they have him on. My experience told me they do NOT tell the patient the truth unless they ask very specific questions. He may not really know what the Dr. think of him, but maybe he will sign a release so with your clear head you can give input and get a real answer. (You could call and ask them to ask him to do it tonight so you could call soon - of course he may refuse) Also, they don't tend to be exact on the day they will discharge someone, my experience has always been sooner than they told you they were going to. And there meetings at the psych ward are not very "educational" more just a way to fill time - no offense to anyone who thinks otherwise.
Also, I found they over medicate people when they first arrive.
The ativan/xanax etc can become very troubling from anyone but even worse for someone already an addict.
He really should be getting his disability paperwork done himself, usually they have a maximum of 15 days if it required medical certification, so time is of the essence for him to get the check and more importantly the FMLA protection to return to work.
Lastly, try not to get sucked in if you can. Maybe there is an Al-anon meeting a little bit further out you can go to sooner - you truly do leave those meetings feeling better than when you came in.