BILL LETS FAMILY AID ADDICTS

FRANKFORT -- The bill born of the tragic consequences of Northern
Kentucky's heroin problem is back for reconsideration by the General
Assembly. State Rep. Thomas Kerr, R-Taylor Mill, pre-filed legislation
late last week that would allow relatives to commit their
drug-addicted family members to rehabilitation centers.

Under current state law, no one over 18 can be forced to seek drug
treatment.

The bill, called the "Matthew Casey Wethington Act for Substance Abuse
Intervention," is named after a 23-year-old Morning View man who died
of a heroin overdose in August 2002. The proposal is similar to a
state law that lets relatives commit loved ones to facilities for
mental health treatment.

"When you have an individual that's a family member that has drug
problems and that person is an adult, under current law there is
nothing a family member can do to intervene," Kerr said.

Lawmakers will consider the proposal when the legislature convenes
Jan. 6 in Frankfort.

Kerr is a longtime friend of the Wethington family, and Casey's
mother, Charlotte, asked the legislator to sponsor the bill, he said.

Charlotte and her husband Jim have said they tried numerous times to
help her son kick his addiction, but he either relapsed or signed
himself out of drug rehab.

"Casey was (in treatment) for six days. Then he checked himself out.
Which, under law, he was allowed to do. As his parents, there was
nothing we could do legally to stop him," Charlotte Wethington told
The Post for its March series on heroin use in Northern Kentucky.

"When you hear her story you just want to help," Kerr
said.

Under the proposal, a relative, spouse, friend or guardian of a drug
addict can petition a district court judge to allow the committal. If
the judge, based on a doctor's evaluation, decides the person is a
danger to himself or others, the person can be involuntarily admitted
to a treatment center.

"The analogy is a person who suffers from drug abuse really is in the
same position (as someone with mental health problems). They've lost
the ability to make decisions for themselves," Kerr said.

Kerr introduced similar legislation during the 2003 General Assembly.
Budgetary constraints stopped the bill's passage, Kerr said. To
address that issue, new language was included in the bill that would
require the petitioner to pay for treatment. Previously, Medicaid
would have paid for some people's treatment.

"We decided that it's more important to get the mechanism in place,
and we'll worry about the funding later," Kerr said.