TEEN ADDICTS TO GET DETOX, RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT

AADAC Offers Help In City, Calgary

EDMONTON - The Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission is spending
$4.2 million to help teen drug addicts get clean.

Starting in late August, Albertans 18 and under will have access to
eight detox and 16 residential treatment beds in Edmonton and
Calgary. Participation in treatment programs will be optional.

"The programs are developed based on the years of experience that
AADAC has with working with addicted youth," said Silvia Vajushai,
manager of AADAC youth services.

"The young people tell us they need options ... they need to be part
of the process and make their own decisions."

Teens and their families will be able to take their pick of services:
some will choose to stay in detox for a few days, while others will
need long-term services like group and wilderness therapy.

Edmonton's four detox beds and eight residential beds will be housed
at the Yellowhead Youth Centre. Calgary's beds will use an adventure
therapy model and be housed at the Enviros Wilderness School
Association near Cochrane.

Vajushai said the new beds are a response to an increased demand for
services linked to a jump in overall drug use.

But parents of drug-addicted teens who have been lobbying hard for
residential care beds take some of the credit for pushing the
government to act.

They also say the government's voluntary treatment programs won't work.

"The government's model allows (teens) to refuse treatment and walk
out," parent Gord Daniher said. "The draw of the drugs, the draw of
the lifestyle -- if it is there, the kids will be drawn back to the street."

Daniher's daughter was addicted to crystal methamphetamine for four
years and opted out of five treatment programs before getting clean
this year. Meth is especially popular with young people and is among
the most difficult drug addictions to overcome.

The government recognizes this and has established special protocols
to help young meth users, such as longer detox times and more
intensive treatment.

But Daniher and other parents want the freedom to lock their kids up
until they get clean. They are pushing the government to pass new
legislation that will let them.

Experts, however, are divided on whether forced treatment works.
Patrick Zierten is the program director at British Columbia's Orchard
Recovery and Treatment Centre, and a veteran addiction counsellor.

"It is fear that causes parents to push for forced treatment ...
(but) you can't make a therapeutic intervention with someone who is
not compliant," he said.

"There is no sense in sending your child here if they don't want to
come. We could probably get your kid clean for 30 days, but the
recidivism rate is as high as 95 per cent.

"Abstinence Is Not Recovery."

But John Lieberman, also a longtime addiction worker, says the
opposite is true. The director of operations at the California-based
Visions Adolescent Treatment Centre -- and a former meth addict
himself -- said parents have the absolute right to force their
children into treatment.

Voluntary treatment is more successful, he said, but "the idea of
forcing someone into treatment has been working for years.

"Usually addicts reach the end of the road because they ... hit
bottom. It is possible for a parent or a government to help someone
hit bottom in a safe way.

"When it comes to our kids we do whatever we can to get between them
and the train that's coming."