NRS458.250. Legislative declaration of purpose.

  The Legislature finds and declares that the handling of alcohol abusers within the criminal justice system is ineffective, whereas treating alcohol abuse 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 abuse and the treatment of alcohol abusers. 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 abuse at large, attempting to combat the problem at the community level.

      (Added to NRS by 1973, 1059; A 1975, 1145; 2001, 425)