Protective custody for OD victims proposed

LYNN-The people who save drug users’ lives would also be able to steer them to help under a proposal by state Rep. Robert Fennell.Fennell’s legislation has won initial approval in the Legislature. It would allow the a police officer or emergency technician to place a person suspected of a drug overdose in protective custody in a police station or drug treatment facility.His proposal also allows emergency responders to give an overdose victim the option of receiving counseling services.”Far too often, we hear about a person who has a drug overdose, yet fails to ask for or be offered any type of services before they leave the hospital. Taking into account recidivism in drug behavior, additional programs and services need to be in place pro-actively before this pattern is repeated.”Unintentional fatal drug overdoses in the United States nearly doubled from 1999 to 2004, to become the nation’s second-leading cause of accidental death, behind automobile crashes, according to the U. S. Centers for Disease Control.Fennell said his bill does not allow overdose victims to be held for treatment against their will, but an incapacitated person could be held in protective custody for up to 12 hours at a police station, or until they are evaluated by a psychiatrist or physician and offered information about addiction resources and services.Fennell cited research by an anti-substance abuse journal in saying that the best predictor of whether someone will overdose after detoxification from drugs or alcohol is if he or she has done so previously.He said a recent study of a Boston detoxification program by researchers from McLean Hospital’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Center indicated 17 percent of a sample of 470 adults had again overdosed within two years of a hospital discharge.Additionally, 31 percent of all treated persons had a past history of overdoses. The report also found that there is a clear correlation between drug overdoses and depression.Fennell’s legislation would not impose any criminal penalties on those placed under protective custody, nor would it require that they be arrested. If the person who has overdosed is under the age of 18, the police or emergency technician would be required to notify their parents or legal guardiansAccording to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Substance Abuse Services, there were 690 deaths in Massachusetts due to drug overdoses in 2002. This number climbed to 797 in 2005. Heroin and Oxycontin overdoses accounted for 453 deaths and 8,900 emergency room visits in 2002, with these numbers rising to 560 deaths and 11,750 overdoses in 2005. Although drug use has increased, admissions to outpatient services in Massachusetts actually decreased by about 2 percent from 2003 to 2004.”Drug abuse and addiction have ruined far too many lives, and caused enormous heartache to families and loved ones,” added Fennell. “I am confident that with the passage of these three bills, lives will be saved and those who need help will receive the programs and services they deserve.”