APPROPRIATE TREATMENT FOR ADDICTED YOUTH

Government may need a more persuasive case before changing its plans.

The growing opposition in Summerside to the provincial government's
plan for helping drug-addicted young people has some impressive
clout, but it may need to work a little harder to get government on side.

A group of Summerside-area parents wants government to create
long-term drug care for young people with drug problems. The province
is committed to a facility for drug-addicted youth, but the parents
say the three-month program being proposed won't be effective. They
want to follow the lead of other provinces and bring in a long-term
addiction program under legislation that would force youth into treatment.

The parents group itself includes not only parents of youth with drug
problems, but high-profile community leaders such as Dr. Sheldon
Cameron, well-known for his work in addictions, and Andy Lou Somers,
executive director of the East Prince Women's Information Centre.
Just last week, the City of Summerside expressed its support for the
parents' call for long-term care.

Clearly there's a genuine concern for what's perceived to be a
serious problem in the community. That was evident from the remarks
of Coun. Garth Lyle who told council recently he was raising the
issue after attending a parents' meeting. In his opinion, it's "easy
to say it's not a problem" if you don't have friends experiencing it,
but "it's no secret we have a lot of break-ins and a lot of stealing
going on and the reason is because the children are addicted to drugs."

Council's expressed support does add strength to the call for action
here. But the question is whether that action should come in the form
of the province's current plan - a three-month program - or whether a
longer-term one is required. Obviously the longer-term one would be
more expensive because it would demand more resources. But there's
also the controversial question of legislation that would force young
people into treatment.

Now that the city has agreed to support the parents group, perhaps it
could do two things: explain the benefits of a longer-term drug
treatment; and explore the success of any other areas that have
adopted legislation forcing drug-addicted youth into such treatment.
That, in addition to any other information the province may have on
the subject, could be useful to government if it considers a change of plan.