DRUG LAWS TO HELP KIDS

New laws allowing authorities to apprehend children exposed to the
manufacture or trafficking of illegal drugs come into effect today.

The provincial Drug-endangered Children Act also allows authorities
to charge parents or guardians with child abuse for allowing their
children under 18 to be drug-endangered.

The government says the law is in response to research showing that
drug-endangered children are at high risk for chronic respiratory
problems, neurological damage, cancer as well as physical, emotional
and sexual abuse. Children's Services Minister Heather Forsyth said
in a press release that exposure of children to drug making and
selling is becoming more common.

"These kids are being abused and they need our protection," she said.

The act supports police officers who want to intervene and remove a
child from a harmful situation, something that wasn't supported by
existing legislation, said Staff Sgt. Ian Sanderson, the RCMP's drugs
and organized crime awareness coordinator.

While the criminal code contains sections on providing the
necessities of life, the legal standards are so high that only the
most heinous situations could be addressed with those laws.
Meanwhile, existing provincial legislation didn't link drug exposure
to child abuse, so legal action would require a parade of expert
opinions in court, Sanderson said.

Kids who are exposed to harmful drug environments are at greater risk
of burns, electrocution and exposure to harmful chemicals, he said.
For example, marijuana grow operations are 24 times more likely to
have a house fire. Children in drug environments are also more likely
to take a "negative life trajectory" that includes drug involvement
of their own.

The act requires law enforcement and child services personnel to seek
authorization from a judge to apprehend a child believed to be in
danger. But it also allows for apprehension without a judge's order
if there are reasonable grounds to believe that a child's life,
health or safety is in danger. In such a case, police or social
workers can use force if necessary to enter premises to search for the child.

The new laws don't necessarily mean police will be looking to lay
charges in every case, said Cpl. Mike Moulds of St. Albert's drug unit.

"We're looking at the best interests of the child and if that means
that the parents don't get charged criminally, if they're sent to a
mandatory treatment program before they get their kids back, that's
great," he said.

The penalty for wilfully causing a child to be drug-endangered is a
fine up to $25,000 or imprisonment up to 24 months.

For your information

Under the act, a child is drug-endangered if a guardian:

- -- Exposes a child to a chemical or substance used to illegally
manufacture a drug.

- -- Illegally manufactures drugs in the child's presence, or allows
the child to be in a place where a drug is illegally manufactured or stored.

- -- Possesses a chemical or other substance with the intention of
illegally manufacturing a drug in a place where a child resides.

- -- Allows the child to be exposed to an indoor cannabis grow
operation, or to the process of extracting oil or resins from cannabis plants.

- -- Involves the child in or exposes the child to trafficking.

- -- Exposes the child to other illegal drug activity that creates a
risk of physical or emotional injury or sexual abuse.