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How to Assist a Loved One Struggling With Addiction

At Rittgers Rittgers & Nakajima, our office routinely interacts with families who have loved ones suffering from drug or alcohol addiction. Many times we encounter these families after their loved ones have already been charged with a crime as a result of their substance abuse. In these situations our office has utilized several tactics to benefit our client and lessen the potential penalties that he or she may face. These include:

  • Entering into Drug Courts (specialized courts focusing on treatment for an offender rather than punishment), seeking treatment in lieu of conviction for offenders, and seeking entry into a diversion program conditioned on the defendant seeking treatment (another program we have previously addressed in this blog post: /blog/2016/02/diversion-an-invaluable-tool-for-ohio-criminal-defense-attorneys.shtml)
  • Convincing courts to give day-for-day credit to our clients who enter into a residential treatment facility in lieu of a jail sentence
  • Convincing prosecutors to lessen or dismiss charges contingent on our client undergoing treatment

Our attorneys in Cincinnati, Lebanon and Oxford have extensive experience utilizing our client’s amenability to treatment while assisting them through the criminal justice system in order to best serve the client’s needs. This experience helps the client to benefit both personally and in his or her criminal case.

Intervention Assistance

There are also options out there for families who want to help a loved one before his or her addiction results in a criminal charge. One option for these families is to utilize Casey’s Law. This law allows a loved one, such as a relative or spouse, to petition their local Probate Court to have someone ordered into treatment for drug or alcohol abuse even if that individual does not want to seek treatment. In order to qualify for Casey’s Law, the loved one must: 1) be addicted to alcohol or drugs; 2) present a danger or threat of danger to themselves or others because of their substance abuse; and 3) be able to benefit from treatment. After a petition is filed in court, the addicted individual would likely be ordered to undergo an assessment and a hearing would be held to address whether he or she meet the criteria for Casey’s Law.

For more information, see http://caseyslaw.org/Law_OH.htm

Also, this website offers great information as to the rights of individuals dealing with substance abuse: https://lac.org/resources/substance-use-resources/.

If you have a loved one suffering from addiction, please contact Rittgers Rittgers & Nakajima to discuss your family’s options.

Testimonial

“I am someone who has struggled with drug abuse for several years. It all came to a head when I nearly overdosed while driving. Facing a handful of charges including OVI, I knew I needed to seek the help of Charles Matthew Rittgers. Living in my community and hearing of past experiences of friends in similar situations, I knew Rittgers was the best man for the job. Charlie made me feel comfortable and confident throughout the entire process. I never felt judged for my poor choices. It was clear to me Charlie was there to help not only with my case but was there to help me in every way possible. Charlie helped me improve my overall situation beyond the charges. He was very knowledgeable in giving advice about seeking treatment for addiction. Charlie was able to produce a ruling from the Court that was above and beyond my expectations. What started as a dreadful situation has turned into a very hopeful outlook on life as I move forward. I owe many thanks to Charles Matthew Rittgers.” – Jacob

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