Legal guardianship in drug refusal: an illusory solution

Abstract

The use of legal guardianship appears to offer a ready resolution to the complex forensic issue of involuntary medication for psychiatric inpatients. The authors, with the aid of clinical examples, show that the gap between theory and practice may render this solution illusory and illustrate the profound complications for treatment introduced by the guardianship process itself. After examining the complexities of this problem, they consider alternative methods for preserving the patient's rights both to receive and to refuse medication.