Page 38 - Exotic | February 2025

The crazyhouse. The nuthouse. The mental institution. The insane asylum. Somewhere nobody wants to be. Trapped in a room, drugged, and kept by order of the court. In the name of justice. They decide if you be- long there or not.
Do you believe in this practice? Well, guess what, motherfucker, it is not up to you. I, myself, have never been adjudicated men- tally deficient, oddly. However, this sort of thing happens fairly often. The state has the ultimate authority, of course, and can de- cide to commit someone to a mental hos- pital, ostensibly for their own good and the good of society.
There are many reasons one can end up there. Most involve prior crimes or unstable behavior. Are they really helping? What good does this do? How does one end up in the nuthouse? How easy is it to leave? Is this some "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" shit? I decided to find out.
As stated, I've never been through such a proceeding. I've not been involuntarily committed—or voluntarily, for that matter. I had to consult someone who had been run through this particular ringer, and I found them willing to discuss it. A professional associate and dear friend, whom I have known for decades, was done dirty by the system which was put in place to help her and ended up in, well, the crazyhouse. That is to say, the State Hospital. I asked her opin- ions on the state of things and sent ques- tions to her. These are her answers.
1. How did you end up there?
"I currently have a qualifying mental health diagnosis and charges against me, which allowed me to be an eligible candidate for ORS 161.370 to be applied to me in a court of law. A person who is sent to the Oregon
State Hospital under ORS 161.370 must be in custody in order to be admitted to the Hospital. A psychiatric evaluation in jail deemed me unable to "aid and assist" in my court proceedings, and I was sent to the Oregon State Hospital for medical mental health treatment and a second evaluation."
So, she went to the crazyhouse because of pending charges, and I don't think they in- volved cell phone cables.
2. Why did they keep you there?
“The reason I was ordered back to my re- spective county is a question of greater concern. I was ordered back early because I was heavily medicated on an antipsy- chotic that made it difficult to process and respond to normal conversations. I was un- able to attend internet hearings with the mental health judge because of the high dose of antipsychotics I was prescribed.
The psychiatrist, before I was ordered dis- charged from the Oregon State Hospital to be sent back to the county jail, said that she put into my medical records that the dose of antipsychotic medication prescribed to me was "intolerable." Upon my discharge from the Hospital, the psychiatrist low- ered my dose of the antipsychotic but did not remove it from my prescriptions (even though it was only prescribed to me as part of an OSH "safety plan")."
Okay, so she got locked up in the crazy- house, drugged to the gills, and was sent back to jail anyhow. The fuck? Pick one, ya know?
3. For how long?
"I was only kept at the OSH for about two months, which is just a month shy from the usual three months that a person is admit- ted to the OSH under the Mosman Order.* This is a relatively new order. That makes me a "370 OG." How long does that last?
The first time I was sentenced to the OSH, I was brought back to the county jail after spending three months at the OSH and had completed the second psychiatric evalua- tion—in person—at the Oregon State Hos- pital. After spending a night in jail, I had my day in court. My charges were dismissed."
I'm glad the judge's order was adhered to, but why does his name make me think of the mothman from West Virginia? I hope he was, in fact, not a hideous creature for the night in disguise, but even if he was, good on him, I guess.
4. What treatments were provided?
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