Could Anyone Have Made Amy Winehouse Go to Rehab?

No, no, no.

Amy WinehouseThe initial autopsy on late singer Amy Winehouse was inconclusive, the Metropolitan Police announced on Monday. It will be at least two weeks before toxicology reports confirm or disprove widespread speculation that she overdosed. Winehouse's biggest hit was about refusing to go to rehab. Can you make someone go to rehab?

Not in England. The Mental Health Act of 1983 (PDF) permits involuntary commitment of mentally ill patients in England for the protection of themselves or others, but "[d]ependence on alcohol or drugs" is specifically excluded from the definition of mental illness. Therefore, an otherwise mentally healthy Englishwoman can't be forced into rehab—not even if she commits a crime. Judges do, however, regularly offer to reduce a convict's sentence if she agrees to participate in substance-abuse treatment.

According to press reports, Winehouse voluntarily submitted to drug rehab at least twice. Winehouse's father also attempted to have her involuntarily committed for mental illness in hopes that she would get addiction treatment in addition to psychiatric counseling. (Brits refer to involuntary commitment as "sectioning.") The petition was rejected, however, because Winehouse wasn't an immediate danger to herself at the time.

It's easier to force a family member into rehab in the United States, where 38 states permit involuntary commitment for substance-abuse treatment. The statutes vary widely in terms of what it takes to force someone into treatment and how long she can be kept there against her will.

Consider Florida as an example of how the process generally works. A family member, doctor, or any three adults familiar with the addict's problem can submit a petition to the court explaining why involuntary commitment is necessary. The standard in Florida is comparatively lax. All the family must show is that the person "[h]as lost the power of self-control" and that "his or her judgment has been so impaired that the person is incapable of appreciating his or her need" for treatment. (Other states make it tougher, requiring total incapacitation or grave disability.)

The judge can either schedule a hearing or immediately order the sheriff to haul the target into a rehab center for assessment. The center must decide within five days whether long-term treatment is required. If the doctor and the court agree that involuntary treatment is necessary, the patient is admitted for an initial period of 60 days. Extensions are possible, but only after a new petitioning process.

Bonus Explainer: Does compulsory treatment actually work? The research is, unfortunately, all over the map. In 2005, a group of psychologists in Australia pored over three decades of research on coerced drug treatment. They found studies variously claiming that involuntary rehab works better, worse, and just as well as voluntary treatment. (The weight of the research shows that voluntary treatment programs are pretty effective. A major study in 2002, for example, showed that only 25 percent of former cocaine addicts used the drug weekly five years after treatment.) Advocates for involuntary treatment point out that coerced rehab is probably better than no rehab at all. Data show that only 10 percent of addicts seek treatment, and half of those people don't really believe they need it.

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Explainer thanks Aaron Arnold of the Center for Court Innovation.

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