This website was created to bring awareness to a growing epidemic of drug and alcohol abuse in America. Most people have a family member or know someone that has been severely and negatively effected due to drugs and alcohol. My daughter, Jennifer M. Reynolds was one of those people – she died January 15, 2009 at the age of 29. She fought drug addiction for 13 years and in the end couldn’t beat it. Most people can’t beat it by their own willpower. I fought on her behalf and tried to intervene and save her life using the current laws. But these laws failed because they are flawed. That is why I am introducing The Jennifer Act. It is a way for the family or loved one to intervene and rescue someone from addiction. I am advocating The Jennifer Act legislation in 2 states: INDIANA and FLORIDA, but would love to spread this movement to other states as well.
The current law Floridians have in place is The Marchman Act, which does little more than keep the addicted person for 72 hours to do a drug assessment and then they are released back out on the streets. As we all know, 72 hours cannot free someone from the bonds of addiction. Also it can cost up to $400.00 (in Pinellas County) to file a Marchman Act on someone, depending on the county. Many people cannot afford to pay this fee, especially for such a short-lived result like only 72 hours off the streets.
I took the foundation of The Marchman Act and rebuilt it stronger, which resulted in my outline for The Jennifer Act. My revisions and critiques are based on what I have seen first hand with my daughter. These are changes that might give someone a chance – a chance at life – a chance to mend broken bonds with their family – a chance to finally beat their addiction. Addiction is so overwhelming, most of the time it cannot be beaten without serious intervention. Help me support this bill and together we can save lives. Contact your Senators and Representatives to bring this proposition in front of the legislature. An addict has 2 possible paths: jail or the cemetery. Lets pass a law that can give them another option. The option of life.
Sincerely,
Sharon Blair (author of thejenniferact.com)
This is a picture of Jennifer.
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