Too few compulsory rehab facilities in NZ - report

Sir Geoffrey Palmer said the threshold for forcing someone to undergo treatment was set deliberately high. File photo / Steven McNicholl

New Zealand has too few compulsory drug and alcohol treatment facilities, and families face "considerable difficulty" applying for compulsory treatment orders, the Law Commission says.

Its latest report, Compulsory Treatment for Substance Abuse, recommends easier access to compulsory treatment orders and a greater range of residential treatment programmes.

But it also stresses the need for greater safeguards for people who are forced to undergo compulsory rehabilitation.

Law Commission president Sir Geoffrey Palmer said families and others faced "considerable difficulty" when applying for compulsory treatment orders for people with severe drug or alcohol dependence.

In addition, the lack of treatment facilities meant judges were sometimes forced to decline applications to have people committed for care.

Only four facilities are able to accept people under compulsory treatment orders, all of which are in the three main centres and none of which accept people aged under 20.

The commission recommended the creation of a more diverse range of treatment facilities spread throughout the country.

It also recommended scrapping the outdated Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Act 1996 and replacing it with a new law.

The proposed new law would allow anybody over the age of 18 to contact an alcohol and drug services director and arrange for an assessment for someone with substance abuse problems.

A compulsory treatment order could be made if that person had severe substance dependence, was at risk from significant harm, had refused treatment and would likely benefit from rehabilitation.

People could be detained for a maximum of six weeks, with the Family Court able to extend the period for a further three months if they appeared to have a brain injury caused by drug or alcohol use.

The commission also recommended stronger legal safeguards to ensure people detained for treatment had the same rights as those held under mental health legislation.

Sir Geoffrey said the threshold for forcing someone to undergo treatment was set deliberately high because the law placed a great value of individual freedom.

"However, in these rare cases of severe dependence, where a person is at risk of serious harm, it is essential that the assessment process is prompt and easily accessed and that there are enough specialist residential facilities," he said.

An average of 74 people are compulsorily detained for drug or alcohol treatment every year.

Sir Geoffrey said it was possible that number would increase slightly, given easier access to compulsory treatment.

The report, which will feed into the Government's methamphetamine action plan, is part of the commission's wider review of the regulation and control of legal and illicit drugs, due early next year.

- NZPA