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I recently had a personal experience with the Baker Act. My girlfriend and I are currently at college in Florida, and she has various mental problems, which are usually taken care of by medication. One night (Wednesday), and we're still not exactly sure why, she started "freaking out," as she calls it, and we decided to take her to the hospital. By the time she got an injection to calm her down, she was really out of it, and really did not want an injection (who would?). Of course, they gave her one anyway, but then she was at some point placed under Baker Act "involuntary treatment," apparently because she refused the injection. She was then taken to a "recieving facility." When I spoke with her on Friday, she was worn out, and perhaps she did need to be in there for maybe a day more. I think she would have done fine leaving on Friday. However, because the psychiatrists don't come on the weekends, she had to stay in there until Monday; she was completely normal for most of the time she spent in this "recieving facility," which was a very depressing place.

I do understand the need for things like this when people are becoming violent, but she was not a threat to anyone or to herself, and had recovered quickly anyway.