MOTHER CRITICAL OF DETOX PROGRAM APPEALS

When a Calgary mother heard she could force her alcohol-addicted
daughter into detox under a new Alberta law, she jumped at the chance.

Bev, whose last name has been withheld to protect her daughter's
identity, had seen her 17-year-old suffer from mood swings and
blackouts, and go from being a happy honours student to being expelled.

Her daughter refused help. So Bev used the Protection of Children
Abusing Drugs Act that allows parents to send their drug-addicted
children to a detoxification facility for five days.

"I think this was my only chance because she was at the point of no
return," said the 55-year-old on Tuesday.

"(To her), I knew nothing; I was the parent, the bad guy. I think she
was scared and felt everything was spiralling out of control, but she
had no idea how to stop it."

But as thankful as Bev is for the legislation that came into effect
on July 1, she disagrees with this component: Children who are
ordered to detox can ask for a review.

"What good decisions does an addict, who's a child, make?" she said.
"I personally don't see why (the review option) is there."

In Bev's case, her daughter was apprehended on July 11 and taken to
Hull Child and Family Services in Calgary. Her daughter opted to
pursue a review and was granted a court appearance on July 14.

In the meantime, Bev said, an assessment of her daughter was
postponed by the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission, which is
responsible for administering the new law.

Although her daughter lost her court review, the time spent fighting
the apprehension was included in her confinement. The review process
ended up limiting the treatment she could receive before being
released on July 15 -- five days after admittance.

According to Tom Mountain, residential manager with AADAC Youth
Services in Calgary, the commission has ironed out some kinks in
administering the law and will carry out assessments sooner, even if
a review is pending.

"Even if a young person applied for a review within hours of coming
into a protective safe house, we'd still continue engaging them and
working with them to detoxify, and looking at next steps," he said.
"We now will also continue with assessment, which is a more formal,
structured investigation of the substance abuse."

Bev said the review process should be disallowed completely. But she
added that her daughter's short time in detox was still worthwhile.

"I'm not saying she's cured," she said. "But she's healthy enough
right now that if she ever gets sick again, at least she'll know
there's programs to help her."

Bev was one of the first Albertans to test the law. So far, 14
applications for apprehension and confinement have been approved.