Marchman Act and Legal Guidance - Page 8 of 8

How The Marchman Act Got Its Name

According to the dictionary, the word marchman means “a person living on the border territories.” At least in some vague metaphorical sense, one could see how that description applies to someone struggling with addiction, who is living on the outskirts of our reality, technically “here” but largely lost in their own world of substance abuse.

But the Marchman Act is actually named after a specific person, and quite a colorful character at that. It’s the reverend Hal S. Marchman, who is known for the many years he spent as a chaplain for NASCAR as well as for his work in advocating for people who struggle with substance abuse.

Like many of the most admirable crusaders in the fight against addiction, Marchman drew inspiration from his own struggle with the disease. A book published about Marchman’s life, Shalom and Amen: The Life and Work of Hal Marchman, the Racers’ Preacher, itself gets its name from Marchman’s trademark ending to his prayers, which showcases his inclusivity and open-heartedness in its incorporation of both traditionally Christian and traditionally Jewish language.

According to Shalom, Marchman described himself as a “drunk in recovery” who became a role model for others and had over six decades of sobriety under his belt by the time he died in 2009. As an ahead-of-his-time advocate for “the community that lives on the streets,” Marchman also established various church programs and community treatment centers for alcoholics and drug addicts as well as his own Daytona Beach rehabilitation program, where his direct counsel helped inspire thousands in their recoveries.

That isn’t Marchman’s only legacy, though; his alma mater Stetson University has also named the Hal S. Marchman Program for Civic and Social Responsibility after the reverend. The school is admiring of his commitment to “bettering the lives of the marginalized and worked to help those with chemical dependencies and others who tend to be forgotten by society at large,” and names his life, work, and values inspirational.

And then, of course, there’s the Marchman Act. From 1970 until 1993, Florida law actually had two separate statutes dealing with involuntary commitment, one that covered incapacitation related to alcohol abuse and another one that dealt with abuse of other drugs.

But given how often alcohol and drug abuse co-occur, and the potential for confusion due to slight differences in the terms of involuntary admission under each of the two laws, state legislator Steven Wise wrote a new statute that would apply in both circumstances to add some clarity to the proceedings.

Given Hal S. Marchman’s tireless advocacy for those struggling with addiction, he was an obvious choice to be honored as the law’s namesake, and given the many people that the Marchman Act has and will continue to help over the years, it’s a fitting honor and remembrance.

Since then, the Marchman Act has been altered slightly but remained fundamentally intact in providing a way that concerned loved ones can court-order involuntary commitment for someone who is incapacitated due to their substance use provided that certain conditions are met.

And while ordering a loved one to get addiction treatment against their will is certainly never something to be taken lightly, Hal S. Marchman’s own story of recovery from addiction and the many he helped inspire remind us why it could be worth the struggle. With the right treatment, someone can be brought back from addiction’s dismal border territories and back into a life filled with hope and light. If you would like to learn more about how our skilled intervention counselors can guide you through the process of filing a Marchman Act petition, feel free to call us today at 833-497-3808.

Sources:

https://www.amazon.com/Shalom-Amen-Marchman-Racers-Preacher/dp/0982336500

https://www.stetson.edu/other/marchman/

https://www.ninthcircuit.org/sites/default/files/TheMarchmanActProcess-English.pdf

01 Oct

How The Tragic Story Behind Casey’s Law Illustrates The Need For The Marchman Act

While the Marchman Act, which allows for the involuntary commitment of someone who has lost their capacity to undertake the appropriate actions to procure treatment for their substance abuse by themselves, is specific to Florida, most other states in the USA have their own version of an involuntary commitment act. In fact, a full 46 of them do, and in Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana, the law allowing for involuntary treatment to be court-ordered is called Casey’s Law.

The law is named after Matthew “Casey” Wethington, an “energetic young man who enjoyed life until it was “taken” by drugs.” He lived a largely typical middle-class suburban life, enjoying pastimes like soccer, baseball, basketball, wrestling, collecting baseball cards, playing video games, playing the guitar, riding bikes, and skateboarding.

But, despite the fact that Casey’s parents wanted nothing more than to give him the ‘right’ to a life in recovery, they were unable to get their son to consent to treatment. Tragically, he passed away due to a heroin overdose on August 19, 2002, when he was only 23 years old.

His parents were determined to use their son’s story and legacy to ensure that no other parents would have to suffer the same fate, which led them to lobby for Casey’s Law, which was officially put on the books in Kentucky in 2004 and later expanded to Ohio and Indiana.

Casey’s parents suggest that enforced treatment would have been warranted because their son’s development was arrested at the age of fourteen or fifteen, when he started using drugs. While such an assertion is likely true, it’s also important to remember that even someone who became of legal age before they started abusing drugs could regress, under the influence, to a more immature and irrational mental state, clouded by disorientation and denial.

“Every effort to intervene on his disease was stymied because he was over the age of 18 and was not in the criminal justice system. I was told that “he has to want to lose enough and hit bottom.” That is contrary to the best practices for treatment of any other chronic, progressive, and potentially fatal disease. With other diseases, we know that the sooner the disease is recognized, the longer it’s treated, the better the chances for recovery,” Casey’s mother, Charlotte Wethington, poignantly writes on a website informing about Casey’s Law and Casey’s story.

Her words do in fact have some significant academic evidence to back them up, with one study finding that involuntary forms of treatment actually produce greater adherence to treatment protocols because patients have an external reason not to drop out of treatment.

Though the statute was initially used sparingly, petitions filed under Casey’s Law have become more and more as the opioid epidemic has continued to take hold of the midwest. Casey’s parents also hope to further their son’s legacy by bringing Casey’s Law to even more states, and the process to enact is has already been started in West Virginia and in Georgia.

To end this sad story on a more positive note, some of the stories of people suffering from addiction whose loved ones were forced to intervene using Casey’s law actually do have happier endings. Matt Peterson’s father Paul was at one point so worried about his son, who was sleeping in his car and subsisting entirely on heroin and stolen peanut M and M’s, that he stood in front of his son’s closet picking out burial clothes.

But when after Paul and his wife were able to order Matt into involuntary treatment thanks to Casey’s Law, he was eventually able to recover, and has now been sober for more than six years.

In another memorable Casey’s Law story, a couple who credit treatment mandated by Casey’s Law with saving their lives actually gave their son the middle name “Casey” to honor the statute’s namesake.

Using involuntary commitment acts like Casey’s Law or the Florida Marchman Act isn’t without its pitfalls, and it certainly isn’t easy. But as these stories attest, sometimes it is the best and only option when a loved one is severely incapacitated by substance abuse.

So if you are a Florida resident who believes that someone you love is at risk of suffering the same tragic fate that befell Casey Wethington, it may be time to consider using the Marchman Act. To learn more about the logistics of filing a Marchman Act petition and how one of our skilled intervention counselors can help you through the process, please contact us anytime at 833-497-3808.

SOURCES:

caseyslaw.org/

jwatch.org/jp200307090000006/2003/07/09/involuntary-substance-abuse-treatment-has-higher

courier-journal.com/story/news/crime/2019/12/19/caseys-law-kentucky-law-allows-parents-seek-forced-drug-treatment/4353079002/

courier-journal.com/picture-gallery/news/local/2018/09/06/kentucky-newborn-named-after-caseys-law-which-saved-mother/1182407002/

17 Sep

Suicide, Substance Abuse, And The Marchman Act

If you are considering using the Marchman Act, a Florida statute that allows concerned loved ones to file a petition for someone who is struggling with alcohol or drug abuse to undergo involuntary assessment and treatment, a person that you care about is probably in dire straits. And since September is Suicide Awareness Month, there’s no better time to look into the connection between substance abuse and suicide and how you can use the legal system to help someone who may be a danger to themselves.

The good news, insofar as there is any silver lining to be found in a situation this unpleasant for all involved, is that someone who has expressed their intentions to commit suicide or even attempted it has made the fact that they are a danger to themselves immediately obvious.

However, though substance abuse and other mental health issues often co-ocur, a suicidal threat or gesture would probably mean that the Baker Act, another Florida law that is meant to allow for the involuntary treatment of individuals who are experiencing mental health crises, may be more applicable to your loved one’s situation than would the Marchman Act.

Under the Baker Act, one can commit a person who:

is refusing examination or can’t determine if they need an examination
Shows a strong likelihood that they will harm themselves by neglecting or refusing to take care of themselves
Shows a strong likelihood that they will cause harm to themselves or others

Though both acts allow someone to be held for up to 72 hours for an assessment to determine whether further treatment is needed, the Marchman Act instead applies to someone who:

has lost the power of self-control over their substance abuse
does not appreciate their own need for help and cannot make rational decisions regarding their care as a result of their substance abuse
has become a danger to themselves or others.

However, the strong connection between suicide and substance abuse means that forcing your loved one into treatment under the Marchman Act may end up saving their life in the long run. Statistics show that suicide is six times more common in people suffering from a substance abuse disorder than it is in the general population, as well as that as many as twenty-five percent of alcoholics and drug addicts may eventually go on to commit suicide.

People who are suffering from addiction also often have underlying mental health conditions, conditions that can predispose them to suicidal ideation as well and that are almost certainly going untreated if you believe that their situation is severe enough to warrant the Marchman Act.

Someone who is self-medicating a mental health disorder with their drug of abuse may be particularly resistant to treatment, because they fear that the symptoms they have been suppressing with substances will return if they stop using.

However, if you are able to enroll your loved one in a treatment program, even if you have to do so against their will, it will likely be able to help them address their underlying issues as well as their substance abuse, thus laying the groundwork for them to achieve a lasting recovery.

Thinking about the connection between addiction and suicide also underscores ther urgency of convincing your loved one to seek help. Addiction can often be a progressive disease, so allowing someone you love to continue in their downward spiral of drug use may result in them becoming suicidal down the line as they become more desperate, more hopeless, and lose ever more resources and connections that could help them reestablish a healthy, sober life.

Both the Baker Act and the Marchman Act can be used to help you get your loved ones the help they need, and you can always reach out to a professional to help you determine which of these two acts is applicable to your situation and how you should proceed.

Because the Baker Act is easier to file, it would likely be more appropriate in an emergency situation, requiring only a mental health, medical or law enforcement professional to co-sign rather than the extensive petition process required to file a successful Marchman Act claim.

However, the Baker Act also comes with the downside of only ensuring a 72 hour psych hold as opposed to a longer period of treatment that could be required if someone who is detained under the Marchman Act is determined to be a danger to themselves due to their addiction in their initial evaluation.

In the meantime, if you are worried your loved one may be suicidal but don’t feel you yet have the evidence to file a successful Marchman Act or Baker Act claim, there are other steps you can take to keep your loved one safe.

Be alert to signs of an intentional overdose and to the presence of any potential lethal methods your loved one may use to end their life, and to expressions of hopelessness, out of character behavior, and someone who seems to be getting their affairs in order without another logical explanation for doing so.

Suicidal ideation or threats should always be taken seriously, and that you can always reach the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or your local emergency services for help dealing with an acute suicidal crisis in yourself or a loved one. And to learn more about the Marchman Act and how our skilled intervention counselors can help you procure treatment for someone whom you care about, call 833-497-3808.

Category: Marchman Act and Legal Guidance