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Updated 42 minutes ago

Lawmakers could weigh a proposal to give relatives of loved ones battling drug addiction a “tough love” treatment option.

The proposal would allow family members to force a relative into drug treatment using an involuntary commitment procedure. Current law allows involuntary commitment for people with alcohol or drug addiction only if they are diagnosed as mentally ill.

Rachele Amodeo of Hempfield, whose 18-year-old son Jonathan Morelli died of a heroin overdose in 2013, believes it's an option that could save hundreds of lives.

“Any parent is going to do anything to save their child's life,” she said. “Your child is always your child, whether they're 18 or 45. And we need to be given the tools to help save them.”

Sen. Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills, sponsored the bill.

“I've heard from a number of families that have said to me they feel hopeless and helpless in terms of trying to get the appropriate treatment for loved ones,” Costa said. “And they would say that there's no way they could get the treatment their child needs when he doesn't want to get the treatment done.”

The legislation is based largely on “Casey's Law,” legislation approved in Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio. The bill was named for 23-year-old Matthew Casey Wethington, who died of a heroin overdose in 2002.

“We recognize we're sort of trying to break into new territory here,” Costa said. “But given the nature of the crisis we have in front of us, we have to think outside the box.”

Drug-related overdose deaths in Pennsylvania jumped 23.4 percent between 2014 and 2015, climbing from 2,742 to 3,383, according to a 2016 Drug Enforcement Administration report.

There were 377 overdose deaths between 2012 and 2015 in Westmoreland County, according to the coroner's office. More than 170 fatal overdoses have been confirmed or are being investigated for 2016.

The legislation would amend the Mental Health Procedures Act, which allows for involuntary commitments to a mental health facility for an emergency psychological evaluation for those who are “mentally ill” and have threatened to harm themselves or others, or threatened to commit suicide. It's known as a 302 petition procedure.

“You could 302 somebody if they say they'll kill themselves,” Amodeo said. “But you watch someone killing themselves daily by using drugs.”

The MHPA states that people who are “alcoholic or drug dependent” should receive mental health treatment “only if they are also diagnosed as mentally ill, but these conditions of themselves shall not be deemed to constitute mental illness.”

Costa's office said the MHPA hasn't been updated since 1978, and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders now includes diagnoses for “substance use disorders,” which covers drug abuse and dependence.

The proposed legislation would be similar to a 302 procedure. A spouse, relative or guardian could submit a petition for involuntary commitment to a county administrator for mental and behavioral health programs for an evaluation. The individual would be sent to a health facility where he or she would be examined by a physician who would determine how long the individual would receive treatment.

The American Civil Liberties Union in Pennsylvania opposes the legislation because it “lacks significant due process protections,” spokesman Andy Hoover said. He said it allows the court to order a person into inpatient treatment for an indefinite period, doesn't define key provision phrases and allows the court to rely on the word of one physician.

“The government cannot deprive people of their liberty with so little protection,” Hoover said.

The legislation would be a good first step and tool to help, Amodeo said. But lengthy treatment followed by a long period in a clean-living environment is necessary to break heroin's grip, she said.

“So many addicts don't see what they're doing to themselves,” she said. “Your brain's changed by these drugs. It's not something that starts overnight, and it's not something that's going to change overnight.”

Kevin Zwick is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-850-2856 or kzwick@tribweb.com.

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