AUDIO – LOCK THEM ADDICTS UP –

May 24, 2022 – As legislators seem poised to add millions of dollars in funding for involuntary commitment programs under the law called Section 35, there are concerns among legislators, public health advocates and families on the state of forced treatment here. About a month ago, Jim Derick, of Franklin, petitioned a court to “section” his 31-year-old son to treatment for the fourth time in three years.

Derick, president of the SAFE Coalition, a substance use support and education nonprofit, said he opted for forced treatment after Franklin police had found Derick’s son using drugs with another man who died of an overdose.

His son was sent to Stonybrook, one of two Section 35 programs operated in state-run correctional settings. Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi helped launch the Stonybrook Stabilization and Treatment Center in Ludlow in 2018 to address what he saw as a dearth of treatment options in western Massachusetts. Derick was surprised when his son called him recently from Stonybrook.

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