Alcohol Interventions and Drug Interventions may be necessary to get a friend or a loved one the help that they need. While they are necessary, they can turn to violent as the goal of an intervention is to get a person to stop doing a behavior that has become a part of his daily routine.
This is not to say every intervention will turn to violence, but some drugs induce violent mood swings in their users and in some cases, an addict will do anything to keep himself from becoming deprived from a substance that his body now needs.
The addict will naturally be very reluctant to go to an inpatient facility or a hospital for detox. In many interventions, persuasion is all that is necessary to convince a person that he needs help, but for the rare times when things get ugly, it might be a good idea to have a cell phone to call the police. This should be a last resort, tricking the person into going to a treatment center is also acceptable.
The most important thing is not to go to an intervention alone. Even on drugs, a person’s behavior will be slightly more measured and reasonable when other people are present. Sometimes reasonable behavior breaks down and things can get violent. While self-defense is acceptable in these circumstances, the best thing to do is get out as quickly as possible and notify the authorities about the assault attempt and the reason for it. Emergency personnel are trained to handle these situations. The average individual is not.
The recipient of a drug intervention or an alcohol intervention will not be happy to receive one, but the person or people who decide to hold one should realize they are acting in the best interests of the addict, whose judgment has been clouded by his use of drugs.