Need Help for brother
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Hershey, PA
Posts: 3
Need Help for brother
Hello Everyone. I am new to this forum and just happened upon it looking for some help for our family. I am a member of AA and my home group is "The Hershey Group".
Here is the problem.
I have a 48 year old brother addicted to prescription drugs. I believe the most severe is Ritalin. He is snorting 30 pills a day, at least. Our older brother is the only one who has witnessed this first hand. The abuser is on long term disability and has health issues, I believe, caused by his long term abuse. At least 15 years. His ears are a grayish blue, he won't eat and is imagining his neighbors have his house tapped with wires and cameras and are out to get him. Our older brother just spent 3 days with him and none of this is the case.
Can we have him committed for his benefit? His family consist of our mother, and his two brothers.
I am afraid his bottom will be death. He won't admit he has a problem and of course, he avoids me and our mother for fear of us knowing the extent of his abuse. Our older brother knows all he does and until this past holiday weekend, and seeing how sick he looks, hasn't tried to seek help for him. He realizes now how sick our brother is.
Now, we don't give advice but perhaps someone has had a similar experience to share?
Kindest Regards,
Dean P.
Here is the problem.
I have a 48 year old brother addicted to prescription drugs. I believe the most severe is Ritalin. He is snorting 30 pills a day, at least. Our older brother is the only one who has witnessed this first hand. The abuser is on long term disability and has health issues, I believe, caused by his long term abuse. At least 15 years. His ears are a grayish blue, he won't eat and is imagining his neighbors have his house tapped with wires and cameras and are out to get him. Our older brother just spent 3 days with him and none of this is the case.
Can we have him committed for his benefit? His family consist of our mother, and his two brothers.
I am afraid his bottom will be death. He won't admit he has a problem and of course, he avoids me and our mother for fear of us knowing the extent of his abuse. Our older brother knows all he does and until this past holiday weekend, and seeing how sick he looks, hasn't tried to seek help for him. He realizes now how sick our brother is.
Now, we don't give advice but perhaps someone has had a similar experience to share?
Kindest Regards,
Dean P.
Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: chico, ca
Posts: 321
I don't know about your state's protocol on committing. I think it's a 72hr 5150 hold and evaluation and that's if he has threatened harm to himself or others, but still I'm not sure. The police should know, or a lawyer. I feel for ya though. My younger brother was doing that and I went to AZ to get him. It took a coupla weeks and he came up to NorCal to enter a treatment program I had found. 30 days later he left and caught a brand new case and 6 years in prison. There is a light at the end. He just got paroled and is clean and working on his staying that way. For my own program, when he came up here I tried to steer him away from the rifraf and it got me all sideways. Good luck with what you're going thru and don't forget about yourself. God Bless
Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: LA - Lower Alabama
Posts: 5,068
Can you get him arrested? How s he getting that many pills? He is either buying them off the street or using multiple prescriptions. Both are illegal. Having him arrested sounds harsh but if it gets him clean....
Groovy Dancer
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: The States
Posts: 4,751
Hey Dean,
I really feel for your situation. I have a sister that is going through some bad things, and it is very frustrating.
I can only speak to Wisconsin things and this may or may not help. Of course this is NOT legal advice, and not really advice at all to you or anyone else (whether in WI or otherwise), just some comments from things I have some basic knowledge of.
To be taken into protective custody someone needs to be a danger to himself / herself or someone else. Generally, someone abusing drugs / alcohol will not fall into this category if they are not showing signs they are in imminent danger. As a family member of someone with a substance abuse problem this can be really frustrating because they see the person is in danger because of their substance abuse problem. However, generally this is not enough. Taking someone into protective custody is really an arrest, therefore there are some pretty strict guidelines for it.
Generally only law enforcement can take someone into protective custody. Sometimes this is done at the request of a mental health professional. Sometimes it is based on things that officer has knowledge of. Sometimes that person is taken to a secure mental health facility, but frequently they are taken somewhere to be voluntarily admitted. The latter means they can check themselves out when they want, although law enforcement may be called and have them taken into protective custody again.
In WI there is also something called a Third Party Commitment. I have less knowledge of how this works, but have a general idea. For this a 3rd party needs to be involved. I believe this has to be a Dr. or mental health professional. They need to petition the court and prove the person in question is a danger to himself / herself. The person can be taken into custody and taken to a mental health facility. Once someone is committed they may have rules they need to follow or they can be taken back to the facility. I am not aware of any of these situations where the rules included being tested for illegal drugs. Sometimes they are tested to make sure they are taking their prescribed meds. Third Party Commitments are very rare. However you may want to consider asking a mental health professional about this route.
One of the problems with all these scenarios are if the person does not want to get better it is difficult to make them. A lot of places will hold someone through a detox and nothing more. They get out and are free to continue. People are pretty much free to abuse their bodies if they choose to. I share your frustration. I also wish you luck Dean. Again, please do not take this as any advice, legal or otherwise.
Ghost
I really feel for your situation. I have a sister that is going through some bad things, and it is very frustrating.
I can only speak to Wisconsin things and this may or may not help. Of course this is NOT legal advice, and not really advice at all to you or anyone else (whether in WI or otherwise), just some comments from things I have some basic knowledge of.
To be taken into protective custody someone needs to be a danger to himself / herself or someone else. Generally, someone abusing drugs / alcohol will not fall into this category if they are not showing signs they are in imminent danger. As a family member of someone with a substance abuse problem this can be really frustrating because they see the person is in danger because of their substance abuse problem. However, generally this is not enough. Taking someone into protective custody is really an arrest, therefore there are some pretty strict guidelines for it.
Generally only law enforcement can take someone into protective custody. Sometimes this is done at the request of a mental health professional. Sometimes it is based on things that officer has knowledge of. Sometimes that person is taken to a secure mental health facility, but frequently they are taken somewhere to be voluntarily admitted. The latter means they can check themselves out when they want, although law enforcement may be called and have them taken into protective custody again.
In WI there is also something called a Third Party Commitment. I have less knowledge of how this works, but have a general idea. For this a 3rd party needs to be involved. I believe this has to be a Dr. or mental health professional. They need to petition the court and prove the person in question is a danger to himself / herself. The person can be taken into custody and taken to a mental health facility. Once someone is committed they may have rules they need to follow or they can be taken back to the facility. I am not aware of any of these situations where the rules included being tested for illegal drugs. Sometimes they are tested to make sure they are taking their prescribed meds. Third Party Commitments are very rare. However you may want to consider asking a mental health professional about this route.
One of the problems with all these scenarios are if the person does not want to get better it is difficult to make them. A lot of places will hold someone through a detox and nothing more. They get out and are free to continue. People are pretty much free to abuse their bodies if they choose to. I share your frustration. I also wish you luck Dean. Again, please do not take this as any advice, legal or otherwise.
Ghost
Om, Aum, Ohm...
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Punxsutawney/Pittsburgh
Posts: 4,797
This information is from an Allegheny County site, but I believe the 302 criteria is the same in every county in PA. I've been 302'd -- didn't take much for them to lock me up:
Involuntary Commitment (aka “a 302”)
An involuntary commitment is an application for emergency evaluation and treatment for a person who is dangerous to themselves or others due to a mental illness. Dangerousness is determined based on the following criteria:
* Danger to self shall be shown by establishing that within the previous 30 days:
o the person would be unable without the care, supervision and assistance of others to satisfy his/her need for nourishment, personal or medical care, shelter or self protection or safety and that death or serious physical debilitation would occur within 30 days unless treatment was provided;
o the person has attempted suicide or the person has made threats to commit suicide and committed acts in furtherance of the threats; or
o the person has mutilated himself/herself or the person has made threats to mutilate themselves and committed acts in furtherance of the threats.
* Danger to others shall be shown by establishing that within the previous 30 days the person has inflicted or attempted to inflict serious bodily harm on another or has threatened serious bodily harm and has committed acts in furtherance of the threat to commit harm to another.
Because this commitment is involuntary it may require the assistance of family, crisis professionals, police, ambulance and any other person involved in the crisis.
In every 302 a petitioner is required to sign the 302 and appear at a hearing if necessary. A petitioner must have first hand knowledge of the dangerous conduct and be willing to go to an emergency room or the Office of Behavioral Health (OBH) to sign the 302 form.
The petitioner may be required to testify at a hearing regarding the dangerous conduct that he or she witnessed. A police officer or a doctor has the authority to initiate a 302 without prior authorization from the OBH delegate. The OBH delegate can be reached by calling 412-350-4457.
Once a 302 is authorized, the individual will be taken to an emergency room by the police or ambulance for an evaluation by a physician to determine if they need to be admitted for involuntary psychiatric inpatient treatment. If the individual is admitted they may be kept no longer than 120 hours unless a petition for a 303, Extended Emergency Involuntary Treatment, is filed by the hospital.
***
I'll add -- if he has no desire to get clean, a short psychiatric stay isn't likely to do much except keep him safe for a few days. I'm sorry you're having to go through this.
Peace & Love,
Sugah
Involuntary Commitment (aka “a 302”)
An involuntary commitment is an application for emergency evaluation and treatment for a person who is dangerous to themselves or others due to a mental illness. Dangerousness is determined based on the following criteria:
* Danger to self shall be shown by establishing that within the previous 30 days:
o the person would be unable without the care, supervision and assistance of others to satisfy his/her need for nourishment, personal or medical care, shelter or self protection or safety and that death or serious physical debilitation would occur within 30 days unless treatment was provided;
o the person has attempted suicide or the person has made threats to commit suicide and committed acts in furtherance of the threats; or
o the person has mutilated himself/herself or the person has made threats to mutilate themselves and committed acts in furtherance of the threats.
* Danger to others shall be shown by establishing that within the previous 30 days the person has inflicted or attempted to inflict serious bodily harm on another or has threatened serious bodily harm and has committed acts in furtherance of the threat to commit harm to another.
Because this commitment is involuntary it may require the assistance of family, crisis professionals, police, ambulance and any other person involved in the crisis.
In every 302 a petitioner is required to sign the 302 and appear at a hearing if necessary. A petitioner must have first hand knowledge of the dangerous conduct and be willing to go to an emergency room or the Office of Behavioral Health (OBH) to sign the 302 form.
The petitioner may be required to testify at a hearing regarding the dangerous conduct that he or she witnessed. A police officer or a doctor has the authority to initiate a 302 without prior authorization from the OBH delegate. The OBH delegate can be reached by calling 412-350-4457.
Once a 302 is authorized, the individual will be taken to an emergency room by the police or ambulance for an evaluation by a physician to determine if they need to be admitted for involuntary psychiatric inpatient treatment. If the individual is admitted they may be kept no longer than 120 hours unless a petition for a 303, Extended Emergency Involuntary Treatment, is filed by the hospital.
***
I'll add -- if he has no desire to get clean, a short psychiatric stay isn't likely to do much except keep him safe for a few days. I'm sorry you're having to go through this.
Peace & Love,
Sugah
Member
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Laguna Niguel
Posts: 135
Ugh snorting 30 pills a day is hard core he really won't last much longer his nose must be bleeding by now and the psychosis is at the point where he's a danger to himself and others,you would be saving his life,call the wagon,and get out of there.
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