Schizophrenia is a fundamental disease of the brain. People are born with it, even if their overt symptoms don’t become evident until they are older teens or young adults. Nick Reiner did not cause his brain disorder, or his ability to make good judgements, or his ability to think rationally. His illicit drug abuse was likely a form of “self-medicating” , but was obviously also detrimental in managing his underlying disease. The Reiner family had tremendous resources and tried valiantly to help their son, using the medical and therapeutic sources available in California. Nick had such a severe cognitive disorder that he was eventually hospitalized on a non-voluntary basis and was “conserved” because the medical experts determined he was gravely disabled and unable to be responsible for himself. California is a very conservative state in terms of mental illness, and very biased towards the “civil liberties “ of those with such disorders. For Nick to be conserved, he is disabled.