Council Member Tiffany Cabán Condemns Calls for the Forced Removal of Individuals with Substance Use Disorders

August 15, 2025

New York City

In response to Eric Adams calling for an increase in the involuntary commitment of individuals with substance use disorders, New York City Council Member Tiffany Cabán released the following statement:

“No New Yorker should be forcibly removed from our streets into dangerous involuntary treatment to boost Eric Adams’s reelection campaign. 

Forced treatment can double the risk of a fatal overdose. It is not associated with improved outcomes compared to voluntary treatment. It opens the door to human rights abuses. It is an inappropriate medical intervention for the vast majority of people living with substance use disorders and should only be used when deemed absolutely necessary by healthcare professionals.

There are many more effective and less violent medical interventions, such as overdose prevention centers and harm reduction programs that build trust and lead people to voluntary care.

Eric Adams is flailing. He is reaching for cruel, ineffective, flashy solutions at the expense of our neighbors in a last-ditch attempt to save his campaign. 

He should be following the Council’s lead and adding to the investments we made through our Crisis to Care campaign. We must scale proven solutions and make them available to every New Yorker in need. 

I look forward to working with the Zohran Mamdani administration’s Department of Community Safety to expand true, evidence-based support for New Yorkers struggling with substance use.” 

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