Senate committee debates bill allowing involuntary substance-use treatment when judgment is impaired

A state Senate committee heard extended discussion and witness testimony on a committee substitute for Senate Bill 761, the Joel Archer Substance Abuse Intervention Act, which would allow involuntary commitment proceedings for people with a substance use disorder when their judgment is so impaired by substance use that they cannot appreciate their need for treatment.

Committee counsel summarized the bill’s core change: "The proposed legislation addresses substance use disorder and permits the involuntary commitment process to proceed even when there's no likelihood of harm to self or others," provided the person "has lost the power of self control with respect to substance use" and "is incapable of appreciating his or her need for such services," among other criteria. The counsel said the substitute also would require, at the probable-cause stage, that a person released after detoxification agree to outpatient treatment before release, and would provide for restoration of firearm rights and removal from the mental-health registry when significant changes occur.

The bill borrows language counsel said is modeled on Florida’s Marchman Act and was described as structurally consistent with existing West Virginia mental-hygiene law. "This committee…