PROVINCE GOES AHEAD WITH FORCED DETOX

New Law Allows Judges To Lock Up Young Addicts For Five Days Of Drug Treatment

EDMONTON - Alberta is setting up five centres where young addicts
will be locked up and forced to take treatment, despite doubts about
how well the program will work and criticism of the confinement process.

The Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission unveiled plans for 20
forcible confinement beds to be ready by July 1, when the Protection
of Children Abusing Drugs Act takes effect.

They will be in group homes known as safe protection houses. Edmonton
will get five or six of the 20 beds.

The law will let desperate parents and guardians seek court orders to
force their addicted children into five days of detox.

Red Deer MLA May Anne Jablonski persuaded the legislature last year
to pass the law unanimously, after hearing horror stories of children
addicted to crystal methamphetamine.

AADAC hopes child addicts who have refused help will agree while in
detox to enlist in voluntary drug treatment. But it doesn't know if
the scheme will work.

"The research literature is sort of 50-50," Murray Finnerty, AADAC
president, said in an interview.

He's optimistic, though, after looking at the experience of a couple
of locations in the United States that have similar programs. "We
actually do think it will give us a good opportunity to get to some
kids that maybe wouldn't come to us any other way."

AADAC addiction counsellor Corinne DelColle is used to working with
young offenders who reluctantly take drug treatment under court
orders. But DelColle hasn't worked with non-criminal youngsters who
are free to leave after five days of forcible detox.

She expects resistance to treatment. "One thing that's very helpful
is just talking to them and asking them to self-assess how drugs and
alcohol are affecting their lives."

Jablonski, who proposed the forcible confinement law, wanted it to
include 90 days of compulsory treatment. The five days of detox was a
compromise, after concerns that longer confinement would face a
constitutional challenge.

Alberta has spent the last year preparing the program, which will
cost $13.9 million in the first year for the 20 beds and 24 extra
front-line staff.

As of July 1, parents and guardians will be able to apply to the
courts for confinement orders, a step Finnerty expects to be "fairly
immediate."

Saskatchewan has modelled compulsory detox legislation on Alberta's,
and put its version into effect April 1.

Scathing report

Marvin Bernstein, the Saskatchewan children's advocate, issued a
scathing report Tuesday. He warned that his province's law will
"create unintended negative consequences for young people and their families."

Bernstein aimed his criticism at the Saskatchewan legislation but
said Alberta's law also may have deficiencies.

In Saskatchewan, a parent must convince a judge to order a medical
assessment whether a child needs detox. The child can refuse detox
unless a second doctor says it is necessary.

Alberta waives the need for assessment until detox has begun. A
parent or guardian can seek court-ordered detox without expert evidence.

"It's important to have the benefit of that evidence," Bernstein
said. "It's a slippery slope.

"We need to protect procedural rights. Once there's slippage, it's
very easy to say there's such an important societal problem that we
are going to have to put less attention on elevating rights and
respecting those rights," he said. "Then it's very easy to find
another reason, another important social issue, to target a different
minority group."

Still, Alberta's legislation may need only minor changes, Bernstein
said. Saskatchewan's allows more people, including school coaches and
even jilted lovers, to seek detox orders.

Saskatchewan's only detox centre is in a youth correctional facility.

John Mould, Alberta children's advocate, could not be reached for comment.

Silvia Vajushi, executive director of AADAC's youth services branch,
said the law gives children the right to an appeal within 24 hours of
being apprehended. She said Alberta safeguards children's rights by
urging parents to talk to AADAC about other programs before seeking
court orders.

Dave Rodney, the Calgary MLA who is chairman of AADAC, said speed is
crucial in getting children into detox.