DRUG LAW QUESTIONED AS PATIENTS DIE IN WAIT

WEST PALM BEACH -- Late at night, Vincent Bucciarelli sobbed himself to sleep.

His mother, Teresa, heard the cries of her youngest son -- her baby, even
at 20. His anguish broke her heart.

In the mornings, he told her: "I hate these drugs, Mom. I don't want to do
them, but I know I will."

Teresa Bucciarelli tried to help her son by using the courts to get him
committed to drug treatment. But a lengthy waiting list at a local
treatment center stymied her efforts.

While waiting for a bed, her son died Aug. 4 of a suspected drug overdose.

He is one of at least three substance abusers who died in the past year
while waiting to get into one of the county's two treatment centers for
people without money or insurance to cover the cost.

The problem, according to court officials familiar with the process: There
simply are not enough drug treatment beds in the county for people who rely
on the state to pay. The typical wait for one of the beds is four to eight
weeks.

But there is another way for these people to get into treatment almost
immediately: by getting arrested. The Department of Corrections pays for
more treatment beds in Palm Beach County than does the Department of
Children and Families, the agency that covers treatment for people who
can't afford it.

"In order to get this treatment, your ticket is to commit a crime," said
Judge Edward Rodgers, a retired Palm Beach County circuit judge who
presides over commitment hearings at a special drug court in Riviera Beach.

Besides Vincent Bucciarelli of West Palm Beach, court records show, two
other Palm Beach County residents died while waiting for drug treatment
beds: Sean Brandon Polleveys of Lake Park and Janet Marie McDermott of
Delray Beach.

Polleveys, 16, died Aug. 24 after slipping into a coma. Blood tests taken
at the hospital revealed OxyContin, ecstasy, alcohol and marijuana in his
blood.

Debbie Polleveys knew her son was drinking and using marijuana, and she
feared that would lead to more dangerous drugs. She filed a petition under
the Marchman Act, a state law allowing friends or relatives to ask the
courts to force a drug abuser into treatment.

Sean Polleveys was ordered to get a substance abuse assessment at CARP
(Comprehensive Alcoholism Rehabilitation Programs) in West Palm Beach, one
of two treatment centers in Palm Beach County used by the state.

During the assessment, a counselor asks patients about their drug use.
Polleveys had the assessment done May 31, according to his mother, who said
she drove him to the appointment and waited there three hours until he was
done.

But Debbie Polleveys said they never heard back from CARP or the courts. In
frustration, she wrote to the court Aug. 9, asking what had happened to her
son's case.

On Aug. 17, the director of medical records at CARP wrote back to the
court: "We have no record of Sean Brandon Polleveys."

The next day, Sean went to a party and went into a coma.

"I tried so hard to help him," his mother said, weeping.

McDermott, a 44-year-old longtime drug user and mother of three, died Dec.
14. She was fatally shot by a man playing Russian roulette after they spent
the night drinking and doing drugs in a Delray Beach engine repair shop.

In court documents, her estranged husband wrote that she smoked crack,
wouldn't work and had sold everything of value. Four previous stays in
private rehabilitation centers hadn't helped. She was homeless and living
in a van.

McDermott's family did not want to comment on her death. But court records
show her husband and sons appeared in court twice to try to get her help.
On Dec. 6, she was ordered into involuntary treatment and placed on the
waiting list at Drug Abuse Foundation of Delray Beach, the other county
facility used by the state.

She was shot to death eight days later.

Bucciarelli was in and out of jobs and had no health insurance to pay for
drug treatment. So his mother tried the Marchman Act.

In court documents, Teresa Bucciarelli pleaded for help for her son, whom
she suspected of using OxyContin, cocaine, marijuana, Xanax, Percocet and
other drugs. On June 29, court General Master Leonard Hanser ordered
Vincent Bucciarelli into treatment.

Bucciarelli was placed on a waiting list at CARP and told to call CARP
daily while he waited for a bed. He couldn't stay clean long enough and
died five weeks later.

Teresa Bucciarelli is angry about her son's death.

"You can't make somebody wait," she said. "All I know is, this is a
mistake, he shouldn't have died."

Drawn by weather, jobs

The 2000 Census revealed that Palm Beach County, the third most populous in
Florida, had more residents in drug treatment hospitals or halfway houses
than any other county -- 731.

The area historically has attracted numerous patients from outside the
state, drawn by the weather and a helpful business community that provides
jobs to recovering addicts.

One of the country's best-known treatment programs, the Hazelden Foundation
of Minnesota, has a branch at St. Mary's Medical Center.

But the Department of Children and Families, which pays for treatment under
the Marchman Act, provides money for only 49 beds per day at CARP and the
DAF. It also pays for 22 beds elsewhere in the county for certain patients,
such as drug-addicted mothers.

There are about 30 people on the waiting list at CARP and about 70 on the
waiting list at DAF.

"As the county gets larger, the (drug) problem is just going to get worse,"
said Alton Taylor, executive director of the Drug Abuse Foundation. "The
answer is we need more publicly funded beds."

The Department of Children and Families did not respond to questions about
waiting lists for treatment. Both CARP and the DAF are expanding; CARP
plans to add 40 more beds next year and DAF expects to have 85 more. The
extra beds will help, Taylor said, but the problem will still exist.

Both facilities said they could not comment on specific cases because of
confidentiality rules.

Addiction 'So Overwhelming'

The hallway outside of Hanser's fourth floor courtroom at the main
courthouse in West Palm Beach overflows with emotion. People are pacing and
fidgeting. Some get up from the plastic chairs, over and over, to look at
the docket sheet on the bulletin board -- as if seeing their name made the
situation more real.

Hanser, a slim man with glasses, is a calm presence. He and three other
general masters in the county must deal with paperwork, waiting lists,
substance abusers who don't show up for court and substance abusers who
also have mental problems.

Despite the bureaucratic headaches, Hanser said the Marchman Act is a
useful tool for friends and families who are trying to help a substance abuser.

"It allows you to make some effort to put a person in treatment," he said.

Judge Edward Rodgers said he was not surprised to hear about the deaths of
substance abusers waiting for treatment beds.

"The addiction is just so overwhelming and compelling," he said.

Rodgers created a Saturday drug court in Riviera Beach in 1991 while he was
still on the bench as a circuit judge in Palm Beach County. Now retired, he
serves as a general master for that court, which is for Riviera Beach
residents.

Addicts who come to his court have an advantage: They often can get a
treatment bed right away. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office pays for
two beds at CARP for people committed from the Riviera Beach court.

Rodgers said people on probation with the Department of Corrections get a
bed more quickly than others. The Department of Corrections pays for up to
75 beds at CARP and DAF, 26 more than DCF.

The directors of CARP and Drug Abuse Foundation deny DOC can get its
addicts into treatment quicker. They also say that if the beds bought by
DCF are filled on any given day, they cannot give DCF one of DOC's beds,
even if it is not being used.

Bob Bozzone, executive director of CARP since 1978, said the number of
substance abusers has grown in proportion to the county's growth.
Meanwhile, the number of drug treatment beds for those who can't afford to
pay has stayed about the same.

He said the community needs to do more to combat the drug problem and not
just expect state agencies and only two nonprofit treatment centers to pick
up the slack.

"We are so past 'Just Say No'," Bozzone said.

About The Marchman Act

What is the Marchman Act?

The Hal S. Marchman Alcohol and Other Drug Services Act of 1993 provides a
procedure for people to seek help from the court for a friend or loved one
who has a substance abuse problem.

A spouse, family member or three adult friends may petition the court to
have the person undergo an involuntary assessment for substance abuse. If
the assessment determines that the person needs intensive help, a petition
for involuntary treatment is filed and heard in court.

If a bed is available, the person is placed into treatment for up to 60
days. If no bed is available at the treatment centers, the person is placed
on a waiting list.

Where are Marchman Act hearings held, and how can I get forms?

* West Palm Beach: County courthouse, 205 N. Dixie Highway. For forms, call
355-1685.

* Delray Beach: South County courthouse at 200 W. Atlantic Ave. For forms,
call 274-1589.

* Riviera Beach: Civil drug court, 200 W. 12th St. For Riviera Beach
residents only. Hearings held Saturdays. For forms, call 844-6581.