16. Every day in the US, 2,500
youth (12 to 17) abuse a
prescription pain reliever
for the first time. –
drugfreeworld.org
17. A study of the life expectancy of male heroin addicts in California
found that heroin addicts typically lose a decade and a half to
their addiction. – oatc.ca
22. The Matthew Casey Wethington Act for Substance Abuse
Intervention is named for Matthew Casey Wethington,
who died in 2002 from a heroin overdose at the age of
23.
The act provides a means of intervening with someone
who is unable to recognize his or her need for treatment
due to their impairment. This law will allow parents,
relatives and/or friends to petition the court for
treatment on behalf of the substance abuse-impaired
person.
Denial and distorted thinking impedes a person’s ability
to make a rational decision. The “bottom” for many is
death. Addiction is a progressive, life-threatening
disease. The best hope of survival for a person who is
substance abuse impaired is intervention. Studies show
that involuntary treatment can be just as successful as
voluntary treatment.
Most individuals who are substance abuse-impaired
receive court-ordered treatment only after they have
become arrested for a crime while under the influence
of a substance. Drugs and crime often go hand-in-hand
because people who are substance abuse impaired are
forced by their disease to resort to any means necessary
to procure their drug.
Court-ordered treatment can be effective
regardless of who initiates it. Not all people who
are substance abuse impaired are arrested or, in
the event that they are, may not receive the
necessary treatment.
Casey’s Law was created for families like yours
who love someone who with the help of an
intervention tool can have the opportunity to
recover from and survive the disease of drug
and/or alcohol addiction.
http://operationunite.org/treatment/caseys-
law/
http://www.caseyslaw.org/
https://www.facebook.com/CaseysLawNYS
