PROPOSED LAW TARGETS KIDS

A bill that may be a dream come true to some parents and an invasion of
rights for their kids will proceed with its first reading on March 3.

Bill 202, legislation that forces drug-addicted youth into treatment, will
be introduced by Red Deer Conservative MLA Mary Anne Jablonski. "I'm doing
this because of the number of parents that have come to me asking for help,
desperate and heart-broken," said the MLA.

"They tell me all the horrors -- children not coming home, not eating,
honour students whose grades have gone down. And they have no more control
over their child."

But the Edson and District Drug Action Coalition (EDAC) wants the province
to provide more funding for programs that help youth before forced
treatment becomes necessary.

"We must start with the least intrusive methods first, like outpatient
counseling, intervention in schools, programs offered by Alberta Alcohol
and Drug Abuse Commission, voluntary treatment.

And then mandatory treatment becomes necessary, but there's a very small
percentage of kids that it's applicable to," explained coalition co-chair,
Edith Zuidhof-Knoop.

"You need to be respectful of people's rights and a mandatory program takes
those rights away," she added.

The Red Deer MLA does not believe there's enough room to respect such
rights with the current situation.

After attending a forum on methamphetamine use in Alberta last year,
Jablonski realized the extent of drug abuse existing in the province.

"About 10 years ago, you could still make a decision about whether you want
to keep trying the drug. Now that decision is no longer yours. With crystal
meth, you take it twice and you no longer have a chance. Your body craves
it so badly that all you focus on is getting another hit," she said.

Zuidhof-Knoop said that is just a myth.

"There is no evidence that using crystal meth one time will make everyone
addicted."

Yet the MLA claimed she has received a lot of support for Bill 202 so far.

The RCMP street team in Red Deer gave her their 100 per cent support and
told her there was a dire need for the legislation to address drug abuse
before it gets worse and 630 CHED radio's online poll showed a 95 per cent
positive response after asking whether drug-addicted teens should be forced
into drug treatment, said Jablonski.

"I have not received a negative response from youth either, just lawyers,"
she said.

Jablonski draws a direct comparison between the need for Bill 202 and the
"Protection of Children Involved in Prostitution Act," allowing authorities
to arrest children who engage in prostitution and confine them to places
where they can get emotional assistance.

According to EDAC, the method of treatment outweighs the need for it when
it comes to prevention.

"You can force anybody into treatment, but if they don't want to be there,
it won't be too effective," said Zuidhof-Knoop.