Pubdate: Fri, 20 Jul 2007
Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB)
Copyright: 2007 Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact:  http://www.edmontonsun.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/135
Author: Mindelle Jacobs
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

FORCED TREATMENT NECESSARY

Drunk and high on drugs, a 17-year-old boy bolted from a car on the 
way to his group home, ran into highway traffic outside Edmonton, 
tore off his clothes and was hit and killed.

The unnamed youth died in 2005 but, as was evident in the grim 
details of this week's fatality inquiry report, the poor young man 
had been dying in bits and pieces all his life.

His mother was high on solvents throughout her pregnancy, triggering 
his organic brain disorder. His father was an alcoholic.

Child protection officials scooped him up when he was only three 
months old and he spent the rest of his life in foster homes or group homes.

His choices were stark, Alberta provincial court Judge Hugh Fuller 
noted in his report -- remain at the group home and hopefully reach a 
level of maturity that would allow him to function without a 
meaningful relationship with his family, or ignore the danger of 
alcohol and drugs in order to maintain that family link.

"It was a classic conflict of standing firm or adopting the old 
adage, 'if you can't beat them, you may as well join them,'" said 
Fuller. "Despite (his) awareness of the consequences ... he began to 
follow the path of least resistance."

The tragic circumstances surrounding this young man's bleak life and 
terrible death only hit the headlines because he happened to be in 
government care when he died.

But there are countless other teen addicts out there who are unable 
to go straight, whether they're living desperate lives on the margins 
of society or clinging to families who don't know how to help them.

In the Prairie provinces, severely addicted teens can be forced into 
detox (for five days in Alberta and Saskatchewan and up to a week in Manitoba).

Alberta's legislation didn't come into effect until 2006, a year 
after the teen's death. But even if the province could have compelled 
him to get treatment, it likely wouldn't have been enough.

That stark reality prompted Fuller to recommend teen addicts be 
forced into treatment for as long as necessary, provided there are 
timely court reviews and continued care is recommended by experts.

"I appreciate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms 
considerations, but also recognize an obligation to impose treatment 
for a minor if it is justified," the judge said.

Alberta's legislation allows only "a five-day window of opportunity" 
to assess and treat kids with serious addictions, he pointed out.

The Alberta government will only say that the legislation is being reviewed.

But it's clear that Fuller is right.

More than half of the 400-odd kids placed into forced treatment in 
Alberta over the past year have continued with voluntary treatment.

"Nothing's going to work for all kids all the time," says Sylvia 
Vajushi, executive director of youth services for the Alberta Alcohol 
and Drug Abuse Commission.

Nevertheless, a much longer mandatory drug treatment period would save lives.

And the CEO of the non-profit Pine River Institute, an intensive 
therapeutic boarding school for addicted youth near Toronto, says 
other provinces should adopt the Prairie approach of mandatory care.

"You need to have the option to provide treatment when someone is so 
sick they don't know they need help," says Karen Minden.

"Knowing the decision to leave cannot be realized on a whim gives 
both the young person and the therapist valuable room to navigate the 
rough spots."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman