Share
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
California has enacted a new law that permits the state to mandate drug addicts to undergo rehabilitation, a move that critics argue infringes on civil liberties and could potentially worsen the overdose crisis. Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed Senate Bill 43, which broadens the state’s conservatorship laws to include compulsory rehab for individuals who cannot provide for their basic needs due to severe substance abuse or serious mental health conditions.
Previously, conservatorship was only applicable to individuals with mental health disorders. However, the new law extends this to those suffering from drug or alcohol addiction, even in the absence of a concurrent mental health condition. Conservatorship is a legal procedure where a court can assign a third party, such as a family member, to oversee an individual’s care, including commitment to mental health facilities.
Newsom’s office stated that conservatorship could help break the cycle of repeated crises, including arrest, imprisonment, psychiatric hospitalization, homelessness, and premature death, and instead provide care that can restore mental health and end the conservatorship. However, critics argue that conservatorships, which strip individuals of their autonomy in making care decisions, can lead to abuse.
The new law also allows the state to pilot “secured residential treatment” in Sacramento and Yolo Counties, offering individuals convicted of drug-related crimes a choice between jail time or a locked rehab facility. However, Jeannette Zanipatin, California director for the Drug Policy Alliance, argues that the laws contradict evidence showing that forced treatment is ineffective and can increase the risk of overdose.
California is now among 38 states that permit some form of involuntary drug treatment. This is a significant shift, given that the state accounts for 30% of the unhoused population in the U.S. Zanipatin expressed disappointment with the new measures, particularly as Newsom vetoed a bill in 2022 that would have allowed safe drug consumption sites in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Oakland.
Read more at Vice.
RELATED TOPICS:
US Reviewing Visa Denial for Venezuelan Little League Players, State Department Says
1 hour ago
Hamas Says It Won’t Disarm Unless Independent Palestinian State Established
1 hour ago
Fresno Donates Firefighting Gear to Sister City Guadalajara
2 hours ago
Corruption Scandal Puts Mexico’s President on Defense Against Trump
2 hours ago
US Judges Speak Out About Death Threats, ‘Swattings,’ and ‘Pizza Doxings’
19 hours ago
Trump Fires US Labor Department’s Statistical Leader After Weaker Than Expected Jobs Report
21 hours ago
Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Close After Funding Cut, in Blow to Local Media
22 hours ago
Willow the Streetwise Poodle Mix Gets a Second Chance
24 minutes ago
Categories

Willow the Streetwise Poodle Mix Gets a Second Chance

Newsom Wants Voters to Weigh In on New Congressional Districts in November

Kia America Recalls 201,149 US Telluride Vehicles

US Reviewing Visa Denial for Venezuelan Little League Players, State Department Says

Hamas Says It Won’t Disarm Unless Independent Palestinian State Established

Fresno Donates Firefighting Gear to Sister City Guadalajara

Corruption Scandal Puts Mexico’s President on Defense Against Trump
