Drug addiction has become an epidemic in our country.  It effects all races, classes, ages, and doesn't discriminate between males or females.  Unfortunately there is not enough help out there for these individuals.  Even if a person wants to get help immediately they cannot without money and time that they most likely don't have.  It is even harder for a family member to get help for someone that they care about.  

This epidemic has found my family and has changed every person in it.  My sister is a severe drug addict.  Three years ago she was the perfect stay at home mom who I would trust with my own children.  She was a role model and an amazing loving and caring individual.  She began using prescription pain medication prescribed by a doctor, and became addicted.  It has escalated to heroin, meth, and other drugs which has caused her to lose her home, car, personal belongings, and most importantly her children.  Though they have not been removed by the state, her three children have had to be separated to live with family members.  My sister refuses to go to rehab.  She has attempted out patient therapy but has failed on all tries.  If Casey's Law were available in Indiana we, her family, could petition the courts for involuntary treatment.  This law has already saved many lives in Kentucky and Ohio; the only two states which it is currently available in.

Currently Indiana does have an involuntary commitment law but it is rarely used for substance abuse. The options available under Indiana’s involuntary treatment law are immediate detention, which is 24 hours; emergency detention (72 hours); temporary commitment (up to 90 days); and regular commitment, which is more than 90 days. But Family and Social Services Administration attorney Kathy Gregory says those options are less likely to be used for substance abuse issues.

Our loved ones need us to be their voice when they become to impaired to think clearly.  Once they fall so deeply into the drug lifestyle it is almost impossible to be able to willingly seek help or stop on their own.  I don't want my sister to end up as just another statistic.

Casey's Law is the broader name for The Mathew Casey Wethington Act for Substance Abuse Intervention, and became a law on April 9, 2004 and went into effect in Kentucky on July 13, 2004.  This Act provides a means of intervening with someone who is unable to recognize their own need for treatment due to their impairment from drugs.  This law will allow parents, relatives, and even friends to petition the court for treatment on behalf of the substance abuse-impaired person.

Please visit:  http://caseyslaw.org/  for more information.