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Manatee Glens Hospital and Crisis Center, in Manatee County, Florida, just north of Sarasota on the Gulf of Mexico, is renovating three rooms to be used for alcohol or drug detox. The rooms will be able to house 300 drug or alcohol abusers per year. It appears that the primary usage will be for those who are admitted involuntarily by law enforcement officials.  However, involuntary admissions can only be held for a maximum of five days, which may not be long enough to complete a full alcohol or drug detox.

According to an article in the Bradenton Herald, law enforcement officers take 2400 people a year to prison or emergency rooms so they can basically dry out. The Manatee Glen rooms will provide an alternative lock-up, and relieve some of the stress on prisons and hospitals.

However, I would think it likely that a good number of those admitted will be back. Not only is it sometimes impossible to get through a complete alcohol or drug detox in five days, it doesn’t give any chance at all for alcohol or drug rehab. It will be more like going into the ‘drunk tank’ overnight, but coming back over and over again because the reason for the drug addiction or alcoholism is never addressed.

Florida has a significant drug problem. If you want to sort someone out, it’s best to get them into a medically supervised drug detox center that will ensure they completely detox, and will determine whether alcohol or drug rehab is also needed so the offender can stay clean and sober.

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