Head here http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......81&7 and pop down to the bottom of the page to the comment about getting sj's from hospitals.

Is this true? Surely this has to be wrong information? If not, why did nobody say before.

Cheers,

Ros

I wasn't able to access the page, for some reason.

But yes, it can be done. I've met a number of folks who got their jackets that way. I have a transport jacket, that came, indirectly, from the local institution. It has the floor and unit marked on a strap. AD-3.

This is a very cool thing. If you want to give a degree of authenticity to your jacket, you might consider adding something like that. Sharpies are our friends.

WOW!! To be honest I didn't think sj's were actually still in use. Or is that just here in the UK?

Ros

I don't know about the UK. In the US, the restrictions on their use are more severe, all the time. There's even a nice little label on my Posey, that says it's a federal offense to possess or use the jacket without the express written consent of a doctor. Why write comedy, when the real world is staring you in the face? Who could ask for more?

The best thing to do, is just to ask. The worst that could happen, would be for them to say no.

I'd recommend trying a place where they detain chronically mentally ill folks, especially if it's for long-term commitments. They're more likely to have jackets there. Often if you just explain what you want, they might happen to have an older one hanging in a closet somewhere, and will just give it to you.

You can also do a show, as a tradeoff.

Good luck!

Ros,

This is actually true. In some regions they're still used. But the best is when you live in a region that recently outlawed them (as is commonly the case within the US today). They have a bunch of restraints and nothing to do with them. Commonly they'll just give you them if you ask them nicely and you're well-known enough for them to have heard of you.

Cheers,
-Matt (TK)

Hi Ros, Strait jackets are cheaper than drugs long term. I mean not that people are in strait jackets for a long time but drug cost over many patients are high and there is less harm than drugs.

I was given an ex-police force strait jacket which has arms down the sides and locking buckles. seems to just have been hanging around the police station for about 50 years until I got it.

Ian

This wasn't the case in my neck of the woods. I was told that ALL jackets were sent to the incinerator and anyone caught removing a jacket from a facility would be fired...no questions asked. This was in 1992; just after they were banned in Michigan. Mike