Bill would force mentally ill to take their meds

AUGUSTA - The mental health community is divided over a proposed new law that would require some people with mental illness to take prescribed psychiatric medications or face involuntary admission to a state hospital.

The initiative, known as "community commitment," had all-but-unanimous bipartisan support in both the House and Senate during the recently adjourned legislative session, but has been held over for reconsideration because it would draw about $600,000 over the next two years from the state's bare-bones General Fund.

Lawmakers on the budget committee may approve the fiscal note when they reconvene in special session at the end of this month. If not, the bill will be reintroduced in the regular fall session.

The Maine chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, a leading organization that advocates for patients' rights, has refused to take a position on the community commitment bill for fear of splintering its membership. A NAMI spokeswoman said last week that while some providers and family members see the measure as a way to keep people healthy and productive, others find it coercive and an infringement of personal rights.

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The article also includes this bit of ficton which I think was made up by someone with an agenda:
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In New York, he said, the average length of stay in psychiatric hospitals has decreased from 50 days to 15 days, and there has been a 78 percent decrease in the number of inmates in the state's prisons and jails who have a diagnosed mental illness.
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