People reported Thursday that actress Mischa Barton had been hospitalized for a mental evaluation.
Celebrity gossip website TMZ claimed Barton, 31, was hanging over her fence in Thursday morning West Hollywood, a neighborhood of Los Angeles. She had been celebrating her birthday with friends Wednesday evening, People reported.
Sgt. Duncan, of West Hollywood Sheriff's Department, told People.com Barton was "speaking in coherent statements" and went to the hospital willingly.
Officers were called around 7:15 a.m. Thursday about a disturbance at Barton's apartment.
Barton was released from the hosptial Friday and said someone had slipped GHB, or gamma hydroxybutyrate, in her drink. GHB is a depressant that the DEA says gained noteriety in the 1990s as a date rape drug and is commonly put in alcholic drinks.
Barton said the following in a statement to People Friday:
On the evening of the 25th, I went out with a group of friends to celebrate my birthday. While having drinks, I realized that something was not right as my behavior was becoming erratic and continued to intensify over the next several hours. I voluntarily went to get professional help, and I was informed by their staff that I had been given GHB. After an overnight stay, I am home and doing well. I would like to extend a big thanks of gratitude to the professionals at Cedars-Sinai for their great care and professionalism. This is a lesson to all young women out there, be aware of your surroundings.
In 2009, Barton was committed to a psych ward for four days under California's 5150 hold, by which a person "as a result of a mental health disorder, is a danger to others, or to himself or herself, or gravely disabled," is placed in a facility for evaluation and treatment for up to 72 hours, according to California law. She told People magazine of the incident that she had "a full-on breakdown."
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