Mandatory Detox & Rehab for Drug Addicted Youth

[Community Advocate]

Would you support a provincial law that would enable parents to approach the courts to mandate detox and rehabilitation for drug addicted teens or pre-teens in their care?

While parents are held responsible for their minor children in BC to the age of 19 (Parental Resonsibility Act, Child Care Act, Family Law Act, etc.) they lose the rights to their children at the age of 12 through the Federal Privacy Act (8) 2, and most certainly by the age of 14 through the Federal Age of Consent law.

While parents are held responsible by laws to tend to the mental and physical health needs of their children, when it comes to the health deterioration or destruction through the use of illicit street drugs, there are no legal means for parents to ensure their child receives medical attention and treatment for drug abuse or addiction. This doesn't make any sense at all to me.

Also, if you would support a provincial law in BC, would you support this as a federal law? After all, if it's good for the youth of one province, why should this be a provincial issue?

Here is the Alberta law legislated one and a half years ago, which is currently running at over 50% success:

http://www.aadac.com/565_532.asp

[Community Advocate]

Now I would like to ask the big question: Why?

44.4% Why would you support this legislation?

33.3% Why would you not support this legislation?

22.2% What other information would you need in order to make a Yes or No decision?

Thanks so much for your vote and your input!

Edited January 5, 2008 by Community Advocate

[geoffrey]

These are kids. They have parents. And they are sliding into a life where they may be beyond help in a few years.

I've seen major success stories about kids coming out of rehab amongst my friends from back in high school. I'm thankful that their parents took a hard line when they did and convinced their kids to accept treatment.

Unfortunately, the Alberta law isn't perfect and alot of kids still slip by.

It's, not to mention, extremely expensive to put kids through these programs. Some families may lose their kids because of the lack of ability to pay.

While I have no sympathy for adult drug users, young kids need the help of society to get through. Government funding for drug addicted youth is sure to pay huge dividends in the long run.

[Community Advocate]

While I have no sympathy for adult drug users, young kids need the help of society to get through. Government funding for drug addicted youth is sure to pay huge dividends in the long run.

Thank you for your post. I agree with you. The dollars will be saved at the other end - the hospitals, the criminal justice systems snd the morgues and early funerals.

[Community Advocate]

While I have no sympathy for adult drug users, young kids need the help of society to get through. Government funding for drug addicted youth is sure to pay huge dividends in the long run.

But I must add that some of these adult drug users used to be young kids that needed the help of society to get through as well. Actually, I think most adults are past the point of experimenting with illegal street drugs.

Obviously, they did not get the help they needed. They may not have wanted it. And, in this democratic society where the age of consent is set at the ripe old age of 14, barely into puberty, even a child has a legal right to self-destruct on drugs if that is what they choose, or even if that is not what they choose, but they were sucked into involuntary addiction by taking an exstacy tablet that was actually made up with cyristal meth.

[Wilber]

Seems pretty clear to me. As you say, parents are (and should be) expected to be responsible for the health and well being of their children. When it comes to their kids being involved in drugs, they often need help.

That help should be there if they can convince a judge the kids well being depends on it. It looks to me that the Alberta legislation is quite reasonable. Maybe too reasonable and I wonder if five days is long enough but at least someone is willing to take it on. There seem to be plenty of safeguards. I don't know what you mean by a 50% success rate but that would seem pretty darn high for any drug program.

[Community Advocate]

Seems pretty clear to me. As you say, parents are (and should be) expected to be responsible for the health and well being of their children. When it comes to their kids being involved in drugs, they often need help.

That help should be there if they can convince a judge the kids well being depends on it. It looks to me that the Alberta legislation is quite reasonable. Maybe too reasonable and I wonder if five days is long enough but at least someone is willing to take it on. There seem to be plenty of safeguards. I don't know what you mean by a 50% success rate but that would seem pretty darn high for any drug program.

Over fifty percent of the youth who have been mandated for the five day detox program through the courts and referred to the Alberta Addiction Center have chosen to voluntarily partake in after services that help to keep them clean. Over fifty percent of those who were brought to the detox against their will in Alberta, chose, once they were detoxed, to carry on with treatment to get off the drugs. Funny how once the brain is clear from the effects of these drugs, these youth can actually understand what they are doing to themselves, and how they can do better. They feel the support that is offered to them, and they come to understand that they have the choice to continue and land in the hospital, jail, or morgue, or they can go the other way and get help to make a better future for themselves.

I could never figure out how we as a society can think that a teen with a brain that is still developing into their mid-twenties, which is also skewed with illegal drugs even has a vote in the matter when parents and family members can see that they need to intervene.

See, it's like this:

You notice your kid sliding in his behaviours. He is beginning to skip classes at school. The school doesn't efficiently, effectively and reliably report those absenses to parents.

You notice that your teen is up all night, and can not get up for school in the morning. You notice he is not in bed when you check in the wee hours. You ask your teen where s/he has been, and they lie to you. Some teens on drugs will do anyting to keep their parents from finding out, while others will basically put it in your face.

So, now you know there is a problem, and your teen keeps lying to you, sneaking out of the house and committing petty crimes to sustain his or her drug use. Perhaps your daughter has already become involved in drug running and prostitution with the adult dealers. So, now what do you do?

The school counsellors are bound by an unwritten privacy code - if a student discloses their drug use to the school counsellor, that counsellor is bound by their unwritten laws not to notify the parent if the child wishes them not to.

The federal Age of Consent Act ties the hands of police. They are able to look for the 'missing person' you report, but if they find them and they are over the age of 13, all they have to do is say they do not want to go home, and the case is closed, after the police notify you that they can not force your teen to return home, due to the age of consent laws.

The federal Privacy Act forbids any agency from providing you with any information about the child you are being held responsible for through other laws. So, while you are being held responsible, you have no way to find out what his police record is, what his medical record is, etc. If your child goes to hospital by ambulance for a drug problem, you will not be notified if the child is 12 years of age or older, and does not sign a consent form allowing the medical professonals to contact you. But, you do have to pay the invoice for ambulance transfer.

Still with me?

There are no laws to force a teen to return home, and no laws to force an unruly incorrigible youth out of your home, regardless of age.

You try to kick your kid out (because there will be NO DRUGS in your house!), but the law tells the kid you can't do that until they reach the age of 18.

You don't want to kick him out because you know he is experimenting with drugs, and you don't want to push him further into the drug use, and put him in a position where he will have to steal from your neighbours in order to survive.

You are worried that s/he is no longer attending school. You are worried that he will not find employment becasue s/he is on drugs.

BUT: your school counsellors, administrators, your private therapist, and mental health worker, along with your physician and police tell you that kicking him out is your only option at this point. And while the police tell parents to 'kick 'em out', and all these professonals agree, the jpolice tell the kids that parents can not legally do this.

Enough to make you nuts yet? Imagine.

So, now you have a teen addicted to drugs, not attending school, and not employed. You are aware, and desperately trying to help them, but they don't want your help - they don't want to attend school - they want to party. Perhaps you don't even know where s/he is. Perhaps by now, the teen has tried some different varieties of drugs available to them. Perhaps they have taken the presumed harmless drug called "E" - Exstacy, and not even known it was crystal meth. Our police tell us that 70% of the E they confiscate is actually cyrstal meth. So, perhaps by now, your teen is seriously addicted, emaciated, committing criminal acts, and has not been arrested yet. Or, perhaps your teen has been arrested for a crime, and you are notified. Still, there is nothing you can do about the drug abuse or addiction, because in our society full of rights and freedoms these teens basically have full right to self-destruct on illegal street drugs.

The mantra is:

"We need a willing participant"

"You can't make a kid do something he doesn't want to do"

"You have to let him hit rock bottom".

Legislation for mandatory rehab, such as Bill 202 in Alberta is the only way for parents to meet their obligations in other laws to provide the necessary attention to their child's health, safety and well being.

Parents in BC and other provinces are left to pray that their child will be arrested, they will be notified, and they will be able to tell the judge that the whole problem is a drug addiction, and only then can a judge mandate detox and rehab as an alternative to or a part of their sentence for the crime. But, there is no guarantee for that either (YJCA)

Parents are most often judged by their peers, their families, and their communities when they have a teen like this. Some find themselves hiding in their homes, trying so hard not to let friends and family know the anquish they are experiencing with thier child. Others reach out for help in their communities only to find there is none.

I would really like to hear the reservations from the now lower percentage of you who are still a no, or undecided.

Edited January 8, 2008 by Community Advocate

[Muddy]

If a parent is to be responsible for the physical and mental health of their children ,the law must allow them the tools to fix their pain. A child of fifteen in Canada can and do defy their parents . They know the law and parents are sometimes caught in a catch 22 situation. Where they want and are willing to help ,the laws prevent them. It is a terrible feeling of helplessness that sucks the life out of a parent.

[Community Advocate]

It is a terrible feeling of helplessness that sucks the life out of a parent.

You got that right!

With all the rights that children have, the most universally accepted charter of rights and freedoms for children, signed by all but two countries of the world reads:

WORLD-WIDE/INTERNATIONAL:

http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/k2crc.htm

Convention on the Rights of the Child:

Article 33: States Parties shall take all appropriate measures, including legislative, administrative, social and educational measures, to protect children from the illicit use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances as defined in the relevant international treaties, and to prevent the use of children in the illicit production and trafficking of such substances.

So, where are they? Legislative, administrative, social and educational measures.........law enforcement......courts ........school officials........parents with their hands tied......

We are not meeting this mandate of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

I'm not one to complain when I see something wrong, unless I am willing to jump in and be a part of the solution, but I can't find enough support for our politicians to take this to the House of Commons. What's up with that? Where are all these people, and why are they not writing to their MPs and MLAs?

Or, are they just not listening?

[Community Advocate]

The results are in:

http://www.aadac.com/documents/PChADSumReport-electronic.pdf

sounds favorable in general:

The majority of parents were satisfied with their child’s safety while at a

PSH.

Most parents were satisfied with the services initially provided through

PChAD, but satisfaction dropped off over time.

Eighty-five per cent of youth would recommend the services to friends or

relatives in need.

The majority of youth were satisfied with the services provided at

discharge; this was sustained over time.

Fifty-eight per cent of youth indicated an improvement in their quality of

life one month after discharge, and this percentage continued to increase

over time.

More than half of youth reported having a better relationship with their

family following discharge.

A key finding was that about half (49%) of youth who participated in the

evaluation reported seeking treatment voluntarily after leaving the PSH.

[eyeball]

Would you support a provincial law that would enable parents to approach the courts to mandate detox and rehabilitation for drug addicted teens or pre-teens in their care?

http://www.aadac.com/565_532.asp

First of all you're going to have to fund, build, staff and open decent facilities.

I have a friend who's son has been addicted to crack for a number of years now and he's going public in his desperation to do something. When I asked my friend about any medical help he'd looked into for his son he replied what little was available was also essentially useless. We couldn't help but recall the NIMBY's in our small town who recently and successfully stopped a regional health board initiative to locate a facility here that could have helped his son. In the wake of that sad development its hard not to get the sense that the province is just walking away from this issue as we've now also seen cut-backs to what little mental-health and addictions service we do have, along with our hospital. My friend certainly gets this sense.

He just can't understand why everything that is done about drugs seems so helpless and yet he is demanding and craves and needs...help. The local RCMP are encouraging my friend to call for and organize town meetings including parents, police and our local MP (James Lunney) and MLA (Scott Fraser). I really don't think the police are helping matters by stoking his confusion with tales of the Crips taking over high schools in our riding but it sure pumped him full of steam. That said, he was a little more wary when I pointed out we've seen this sort of fear-mongering before on the coast when the RCMP used an isolated incident to warn and scare us about drug addled rape-gangs prowling the mean streets of Tofino. That completely false story even went national as some here may recall.

A few people think my friend is on a crusade to hype the same sort of unreasoning fear and loathing in a bid to boost the inevitable call for a crackdown. Fortunately his mind may still be open to other ideas. I asked him if he'd seen the story about real drug-gangs fighting over the drug trade in our prisons and he was pretty much close to tears when I suggested that if the government can't even stop drugs from getting into our prisons how on Earth will they be able to stop them from getting into our town? I think I may have convinced him to invite somebody from LEAP to attend these meetings and offer an alternative idea about how to deal with drugs. Like I said, he's desperate.

Edited January 30, 2008 by eyeball

[Community Advocate]

Eyeball - your friend is far from alone.

[eyeball]

On the other hand my friend may find himself very much alone if he tries to suggest that trading prohibition for harm reduction is a better solution.

I'm hoping the link between NIMBY's and the lack of treatment wasn't lost on anyone. Its going to take a generation or more to undo the fear and loathing that prohibition has infused our society with. I just can't imagine how much more difficult we could have made it for people to talk about.

Edited January 30, 2008 by eyeball

[DrGreenthumb]

You got that right!

With all the rights that children have, the most universally accepted charter of rights and freedoms for children, signed by all but two countries of the world reads:

WORLD-WIDE/INTERNATIONAL:

http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/k2crc.htm

Convention on the Rights of the Child:

Article 33: States Parties shall take all appropriate measures, including legislative, administrative, social and educational measures, to protect children from the illicit use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances as defined in the relevant international treaties, and to prevent the use of children in the illicit production and trafficking of such substances.

So, where are they? Legislative, administrative, social and educational measures.........law enforcement......courts ........school officials........parents with their hands tied......

We are not meeting this mandate of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

I'm not one to complain when I see something wrong, unless I am willing to jump in and be a part of the solution, but I can't find enough support for our politicians to take this to the House of Commons. What's up with that? Where are all these people, and why are they not writing to their MPs and MLAs?

Or, are they just not listening?

What a load of bull. It is drug prohibition that makes children the main street level drug traffickers. Kids move the stuff because they are unafraid of being caught, have little to lose finacially, and have their records wiped when they come of age. Legalize, regulate, and educate and 90% of the problems associated with drugs are gone. 90% of drug problems would be more accurately described as prohibition problems.

[Community Advocate]

On the other hand my friend may find himself very much alone if he tries to suggest that trading prohibition for harm reduction is a better solution.

He wouldn't be alone in that either. Check into the harm reduction strategy in Vancouver with the safe injection sites. The Vancouver mayor would be on his side as well.

I'm hoping the link between NIMBY's and the lack of treatment wasn't lost on anyone. Its going to take a generation or more to undo the fear and loathing that prohibition has infused our society with. I just can't imagine how much more difficult we could have made it for people to talk about.

Amen.

[eyeball]

What a load of bull. It is drug prohibition that makes children the main street level drug traffickers. Kids move the stuff because they are unafraid of being caught, have little to lose finacially, and have their records wiped when they come of age. Legalize, regulate, and educate and 90% of the problems associated with drugs are gone. 90% of drug problems would be more accurately described as prohibition problems.

Its interesting that about 90% of people who use drugs or alcohol do so without problems.

The kid I talked about is part of a close, tight-knit group of kids that have grown up together all their lives, my own amongst them. These kids all went through the RCMP DARE program (Drug Alcohol Resistance Education) and they still partied with drugs and alcohol, just as many also smoked cigarettes. They're young adults now and with the exception of a few like my friend's son, they're doing just fine. In fact when I look at the greater number of people in my cohort who didn't do as well I'd say DARE was a factor in our kids faring better at handling themselves. Our kids were probably at their most impressionable right around the time a founder of DARE died of a heroin overdose, within weeks of their finishing the DARE program. This event struck the kids profoundly and I recall the many questions they had. They certainly had a graphic example of what constituted a truly dangerous drug.

On a related note I learned these kids have attempted to steer their friend, my friend's son, and others away from crack. I also learned that several even approached a heroin/crack dealer that surfaced in town and they kicked the shit out of him. That scares the hell out of me when I consider that this dealer could have easily had a gun. I think they might have learned about taking matters into their own hands from a local concerned citizen's group, cohorts of mine who should have known better, that bragged about running a suspected pedophile out of town. At least there's no confusion about where kids pick up their really bad habits eh? Its just to bad they've also learned to regard almost everything the government and police tell them as being crap.

Prohibition is a twisted path that has lead to a gateway to a very strange and very dark place.

Edited January 31, 2008 by eyeball