The Legislature finds and declares that the handling of persons with an alcohol use disorder within the criminal justice system is ineffective, whereas treating an alcohol use disorder as a health problem allows its prevention and treatment and relieves law enforcement agencies of a large and inappropriate burden. The provisions of NRS 458.250 to 458.280, inclusive, are intended to provide for the prevention of alcohol use disorders and the treatment of persons with an alcohol use disorder. The provisions of NRS 458.250 to 458.280, inclusive, are further intended to transfer the handling of public intoxication from statutes providing criminal sanctions, including, without limitation, loitering and vagrancy, to statutes providing for civil protective custody. To accomplish these purposes, the Department of Health and Human Services shall continue to direct itself to the problem of alcohol use disorders at large, attempting to combat the problem at the community level.
(Added to NRS by 1973, 1059; A 1975, 1145; 2001, 425)