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Lawmakers considering mandated treatment for addicts to solve opioid epidemic

Lawmakers across the country are trying to find a solution to the opioid epidemic. One local lawmaker thinks the solution is taking the choice of treatment away from some addicts.

State Sen. Jim Brewster of McKeesport has proposed a bill that would give a judge, in some cases, the option to sentence a person to one year of mandated in-patient treatment.

He told Channel 11 there isn't any more time to waste.

"Do you want a slippery slope or do you want death? That's where they're heading," he said. "While we're speaking right now, someone is overdosing."

This bill would apply to users who commit nonviolent crimes. Brewster says just putting these offenders in prison isn't going to stop addiction.

"Get them in a facility where they can get the medical attention to treat the disease," Brewster said. "Putting them in a facility with other hardcore criminals is not going to help that person."

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Channel 11 spoke to Dan Garrighan about the bill. He is the facility director of JADE Wellness, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Monroeville. He says mandatory treatment has shown to be just as effective as voluntary treatment. Garrighan says it is not always a quick process.

"Being in the process is really what matters and that can't be done in seven days," Garrighan said.

Civil liberties groups say the bill has some issues. We spoke with Sara Rose, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania.

"We do have some concerns about the Constitutionality of all of these involuntary efforts to force people into drug treatment," Rose said.

She is worried that this might not be the most realistic option for people struggling to find the help they need.

"Before we start taking away people’s freedom and liberty, we should make sure there's affordable and accessible and effective substance abuse treatment for anyone who wants it on demand," Rose told Channel 11. "We don't have that in the state."

Then, there's the cost of it all.

The State of Washington passed a similar bill this month. It requires the state to build nine involuntary treatment facilities over the next eight years. Each center will cost millions of taxpayer dollars to build.

Channel 11 took this concern to Sen. Brewster. He said we simply have to invest the money to end this epidemic.