It is not common, but it does happen. Involuntary commitment to a Florida drug rehab center is usually an emergency or last-hope effort for someone who cannot or will not make the life-saving decision to enter rehab on their own. What is interesting about involuntary commitment is the success rate.

When people enter treatment voluntarily, they want to make a change. They are sick and tired of being sick and tired. They want another chance at life. On the other hand, the involuntary nature of being committed might seem like a recipe for disaster, but it is not. The results are quite similar to those achieved by people who commit themselves to treatment voluntarily. At some point in the journey, people who enter treatment by someone else’s decision begin to understand that living a clean, sober and healthy life is not just possible, it is within reach.

Involuntary Treatment Has a Similar Success Rate

If you have been involved with a drug addict for long enough, chances are you have heard the familiar saying that they have to want to get better. That is true to a certain extent. Voluntary admission to a Florida drug rehab center makes the earliest days easier, for certain. After a while, however, the line of success between voluntary and involuntary commitment gets a bit blurred.

Drug addiction is a disease. Like any disease, treatment can help a person recover. It does not matter if a person with an infection wants antibiotics to work. They work anyway. Likewise, treatment can work, even if the addict is not open to it initially.

This is partly because the first stage of addiction treatment is drug detoxification. With medications to help manage detox symptoms, addicts are able to think more clearly and avoid the most common result of detoxing alone, which is relapse.

You would be hard-pressed to find any addict who enjoys his or her life fully. With drugs eliminated and detox symptoms managed, those with addictions can move into the next stage of treatment, which is the path to recovery.

The Florida Marchman Act Offers an Avenue for Commitment

The most obvious question about involuntary commitment is a legal one. A parent has the authority to take a minor to rehab. For adults, it is more complicated.

Florida’s Marchman Act is the avenue for involuntary commitment of an adult. Also known as the Florida Substance Abuse Impairment Act, it can be appropriate in certain situations where there is no other mental impairment.

According to Florida DCF, the purpose of the Act is to “provide for assisting substance abuse impaired persons primarily through health and other rehabilitative services in order to relieve the police, courts, correctional institutions, and other criminal justice agencies of a burden that interferes with their ability to protect people, apprehend offenders, and maintain safe and orderly communities.”

If the addict has serious underlying issues, other legislation, such as the Florida Mental Health Act, might be appropriate. In emergency situations, such as overdose or severe drug-induced impairment, the Emergency Examination and Treatment of Incapacitated Person’s Act may be the legislation that gets the addict into substance abuse treatment.

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Forced Rehab May (or May Not) Work

Drug rehab does not have a 100 percent success rate, even with people who enter voluntarily. Numerous factors can affect success, such as how well the program addresses the addict’s needs and how well his or her symptoms are managed. For someone entering involuntarily, the usual factors are compounded by mindset and daily choices.

Group therapy, for example, requires participation. So do private sessions and long-term recovery programs, such as SMART. The addict can disengage or fail to engage at all. Medications, however, are different. They manage the physical symptoms of getting clean, whether or not the addict wants treatment. This is critical because withdrawal symptoms lead to relapse. When the addict makes it over that hump, relapse is not a persistent threat.

The more comprehensive the treatment program, the more likely the addict will respond in time. He or she may have no interest in music therapy or physical activity today. However, with symptom management, continual support, and nutritious food, the addicted person may grow more engaged every day.

If there is an underlying condition, such as ADD, support in a nurturing environment is even more important. Medications and therapies to manage those symptoms make the person stronger and hopefully more responsive to treatment.

From the addict’s side, forced rehab usually begins with an intervention. From the side of a concerned friend or family member, the work begins much earlier. You will need a court order to use the Florida Substance Abuse Impairment Act or other legislation. You will also need arrangements in advance with a Florida drug treatment center.

If someone you care about is suffering from substance abuse and addiction, there is no time to lose. Contact us today and let us help you find ways to encourage a loved one to enter life-saving treatment right away.