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Alcohol and Drug Dependence/Abuse
What you need to know


If substance abuse is in your life as part of your behavior or that of the other parent, you will experience increased difficulty in coping with separation or life after divorce. Particularly as it relates to daily events, you will see the toll that any recreational use of prescription/non-prescription drugs and/or alcohol abuse will have on your life.

Substance abuse may be used to reduce the stress that comes from a full day of pressures at work, in the home, in an old or new relationship or from just the rigors of trying to keep your sanity in general. Unfortunately, it's not a form of relaxation that your mind and body adapt to without creating longer term problems that eventually come back to haunt you and your loved ones.

Since concerns for the children of separation/divorce are primary, we are not here to lecture or advise you on something you already know, but rather to alert you to the following issues that may be considered by the Family Courts in deciding custody or visitation.

  1. When noted, on-going substance abuse will affect the abusers parenting rights;

  2. A history of substance abuse with recent recovery (less than a year) does not necessarily mean that the abuser is off the hook to show that he or she is a responsible adult;

  3. A history of substance abuse with a significant recovery period (more than a year) may be used to illustrate the potential for responsible parenting behavior, and . . .

  4. A drug and alcohol assessment and random blood or urine testing may be ordered by the court or requested by either parent as part of the visitation rights of the other parent when substance abuse is alleged or suspected.

You have an obligation to notify the court if either you or the other parent is a substance abuser. While it is unlikely that an abusing parent will admit to using, he or she may want to do it anyway if it is likely the other parent might use that against the other. Better to inform the court on your own than to be discovered by other means.

While many public and private health organizations in Sacramento provide drug and/or alcohol assessments, only those affiliated with the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) should be considered for the uniformity and quality of reporting and testing.

For information on testing and other resource information, call The Sacramento NCADD affiliate at (916) 922-9217.

 




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