CONTROLLED DETOX WOULD HELP ADDICTS

Editor:

When the question of whether Chilliwack needed a safe injection site
for its drug addicts was asked my answer was published in both
newspapers with my comments and suggestions for the treatment of drug addicts.

Interestingly, the article by columnist Pete McMartin in the
Vancouver Sun Sept. 28 reporting MLA Lorne Mayencourt's championing
of the community of San Patrignano near Rimini on the Italian
Adriatic coast which he visited in Jan. 2006 as an alternative to
local drug addiction treatment is similar to my suggested treatment
for drug addicts here. I advocated that a controlled residential
detoxification and rehabilitation centre be established where trades
or other suitable training services are taught until the addicts are
capable of joining society as contributing citizens.

Since 1995 San Patrignano, in the pleasant Italian countryside, away
from city temptations, is considered the largest drug addiction
therapeutic community in Europe. One study found it to have a 70 per
cent success rate. Mayencourt would like to see a similar institution
established somewhere in the Fraser Valley and that, in my humble
opinion, is just what we need.

Clients of San Patrignano are expected to observe boundaries
(controlled) and are put to work during detoxification after they
arrive learning trades and crafts not only as therapy but to provide
addicts with employable skills for when they re-enter society. Some
can sometimes remain in therapy for three to four years in recovery.

Mary Hartman

Chilliwack