My brother is MICA-stole valium-got high with friend-friend heart attack- charged?

[thnks4urhelp]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY

Hello, THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR ANY HELP ANYONE CAN GIVE ME!
MY brother is a Mentally Ill Chemical Abuser (MICA), unregulated on any medication, and not supervised by any doctor. He has been off the wagon for several months now after a brief stint in jail. A couple of days ago he stole a bottle of Valium from the downstairs tenant's purse and went to get high with his friend, the friend had a heart attack and is presently in the hospital.

Later, my brother, a total mess, checked into Rehab on a voluntary basis.

When the tenant went to her doctor for a refill and explained the situation, the Dr. urged her to involve the police.

What ramifications does this hold for my brother if the police are involved?

possible type of charges??

My mother wants to use this as an opportunity to have him held involuntarily. A sticky situation to be sure, dealing with MICA issues always is. I think that lock down is an excellent idea, as he is really out of control. I am here because we need the legal aspects of the situation, so that we can make informed decisions. We want to be sure he gets help, and is not given the option to choose jail, if possible. He, like many typical MICA, would choose jail, as that is preferable to the nuthouse. He has already chosen this route several times before, and when the jail time is through, it's always the same old jazz.

Is there a standard procedure that should be followed in this situation??

We are running on very limited time because today is his third day in voluntary lock down, and past experience says that he will try to sign himself out very soon if nothing is done to keep him there.

We plan on going to see the counselors at the rehab today, but I would appreciate anyone who has any information to help me. I have found in the past that MICA patients seem to exist somewhere within the grey area of the law, and have very little standardized procedure/options regarding their behavior. When last we tried to get him into lock down we were informed to "return when he commits a CRIME!" I couldn't believe they were serious, but they were. Eww. They will do nothing until he is considered " a danger to himself and others..,.", as if being mentally ill and using the disability money for drugs is not considered a danger to self!!

Anyway, I know that the theft could be considered a crime, but I would hate if we initiated an intervention to help him get regulated on medication/counseling etc.. and it blew up in our faces with him going to jail for a long time because we initiated the wrong kind of action/ or reported it the wrong way to the wrong people... The idea is help, voluntary or not, not jail time.

The friend who he was getting high with, also smokes crack, does heroin on a regular basis, and is on medication for a pre-existing heart condition ... Yeah, go figure I would think that as a consenting adult he would be responsible for his own actions, but I'm not a lawyer, and since my brother had the pills (even though he was using them himself) that mixed with the crack,dope, heart meds, etc....

I just want to know if he could be charged with anything in relation to the friend with heart attack if we did file a police report for the stolen medication, to try initiate mental health/drug treatment??

Do you see my dilemma???

I'm just trying to find the right course of action. I realize that he is an adult, and that leaves us practically powerless, BUT,,,, that is why I'm here, to see if we have a leg to stand on, if there is a proper procedure- something new?? drug court procedures, etc...

I don't know what I can do, if anything.

In a perfect world; MICA people would be required to be regulated by a caseworker & on medication/therapy/etc.. if they were to collect government money.

My brother has never been regulated/required to be regulated on medication, in order to receive disability $$.

Basically just a screwed up situation all the way around; not asking for a miracle, just some patience for a complex situation, and some educated input.

Thank You

 

[HomeGuru]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY

Hello, THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR ANY HELP ANYONE CAN GIVE ME!
MY brother is a Mentally Ill Chemical Abuser (MICA), unregulated on any medication, and not supervised by any doctor. He has been off the wagon for several months now after a brief stint in jail, much to our dismay. A couple of days ago he stole a bottle of valium from the downstairs tenant's purse and went to get high with his friend, the friend had a heart attack and is presently in the hospital.

Later, my brother, a total mess, checked into Rehab on a voluntary basis.

When the tenant went to her doctor for a refill and explained the situation, the dr. urged her to involve the police.

What ramifications does this hold for my brother if the police are involved?

Jailtime??

My mother wants to use this as an opportunity to have him held involuntarily. I think that is an excellent idea, but I want to phrase it the right way to make sure he is to get help, and not given the option to choose jail because he, like a typical MICA, has said many times in the past that jail is preferable to the nuthouse. He has chosen this route several times, and when the jailtime is through, it's always the same old jazz.

Is there a standard procedure that should be followed in this situation??

We are running on very limited time because today is his third day in voluntary lockdown, and past experience says that he will try to sign himself out very soon if nothing is done to keep him there.

We plan on going to see the counselors at the rehab today, but I would appreciate anyone who has any information to help me. I have found in the past that MICA patients seem to exist somewhere within the grey area of the law, and have very little standardized procedure/options regarding their behavior. When last we tried to get him into lockdown we were informed to "return when he commits a CRIME!" I couldn't believe they were serious, but they were. Eww. They will do nothing until he is considered " a danger to himself and others..,.", as if being mentally ill and using the disability money for drugs is not considered a danger to self!!

Anyway, I know that the theft could be considered a crime, but I would hate if we initiated an intervention to help him get regulated on medication/counseling etc.. and it blew up in our faces with him going to jail because he was getting high with his friend.
This friend, who also smokes crack, does heroin on a regular basis, and is on medication for a pre-existing heart condition ... I would think that as a consenting adult he would be responsible, but since my brother had the pills that mixed with the crack,dope, heart meds, etc....

Do you see my dillema???

My brother is always a danger to self when he is on the drugs, but if this scenario is used to qualify as "a danger to others" , there could be very extreme ramifications, right???

I'm just trying to find the right course of action that would MAKE him get help. It is unfortunate that many people who sign themselves into rehab during a lucid moment, are able to sign themselves out when they start to go into withdrawl.

It would be wonderful if policy changed and whatever time they allotted for themselves in the beginning they were made to stick to, even if their mental status changes from voluntary to involuntary.

ANY INPUT WOULD BE APPRECIATED!!! Thank You So Much! have a great day!What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

**A: you can't do much since he is an adult.

 

[You Are Guilty]

As far as I know, there are no "involuntary" MICA programs, leaving you with two choices. Have the neighbor file a police report, likely resulting in your brother being put into the penal system (which may eventually result in a requirement to regularly attend a MICA program as part of his sentencing), or ignoring it all and hoping your brother a) doesn't commit a violent crime and hurt someone next time he wants drugs or b) doesn't kill himself with an OD.

That choice is yours.