1528

LAWS OF MARYLAND

Ch. 405

Article 59 — Mental Hygiene

Section 18

Annotated Code of Maryland

(1972 Replacement Volume and 1977 Supplement)

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
MARYLAND, That section(s) of the Annotated Code of Maryland
be repealed, amended, or enacted to read as follows:

Article 59 - Mental Hygiene

18.

(a)    At the direction of the Commissioner, his
authorized representative, or the superintendent of any
facility, any patient not detained pursuant to the
provisions of §§ 23, 24 or 27 of this article, shall be
released from any facility, if, in the judgment of such
official: (1) The patient is not mentally disordered; or (2)
the patient, if mentally disordered, is not in need of
inpatient medical care or treatment for the protection of
himself and others; and (3) the patient, if released, would
not constitute a danger to himself or to the safety of the
person or property of others; and (4) the patient, if
released, would be able to care for himself properly; or (5)
the patient, if released, would be cared for properly by
other responsible persons who are able and willing to care
for the patient. At the direction of the chief officer of a
Veterans' Administration hospital, any patient meeting the
requirements of this subsection, and subject to the
conditions of this subsection, may be released from such
hospital.

(b)    At the direction of the Commissioner, his
authorized representative, or the superintendent of any
facility, (or in the case of a patient in a Veterans'
Administration hospital, at the direction of the chief
officer of that hospital), any patient not detained pursuant
to the provisions of §§ 23, 24 or 27 of this article, may be
released on a conditional basis, if in the judgment of such
official:

(1)    The patient, if released, would not
constitute a danger to himself or to the safety of the
person or property of others; and

(2)    The patient, if released, would be able to
care for himself properly; or

(3)    The patient, if released, would be cared
for properly by other responsible persons who are able and
willing to care for the patient.

Conditional releases may be on any basis as to
duration, treatment or care deemed reasonable by the
official approving the release. For the purposes of § 12
(e), a patient released on a conditional basis shall be