Fentanyl is the powerful synthetic opioid that is killing people faster than any other drug across the nation. Fentanyl deaths rose by 1,000 percent over a six-year period. Out of the ten overdose deaths in Minnehaha County so far this year, three were from fentanyl.
With dangerous drugs like that on the streets, it’s more important than ever to get a loved one or friend suffering from substance use disorder into treatment. But often people in the throes of addiction refuse to acknowledge they have a problem. One route people close to them can take is to have them committed into treatment involuntarily.
An effort to get involuntary commitments out of the court system and before mental health boards failed in the legislature this year. Even through the mental health boards are already established, counties across the state protested the bill, worried about what it could potentially cost them.
It can take up to 15 days to get an involuntary commitment to go through the court system. It can also be a confusing and expensive process.
The South Dakota Department of Social Services is putting out this brochure on the steps to take in the involuntary commitment process for someone suffering from substance use disorder.
Emergency room doctors can also put an emergency commitment on a patient for up to five days, which can give a family time to go through the IVC process.
