Pubdate: Thu, 12 Jul 2007
Source: Calgary Herald (CN AB)
Copyright: 2007 Calgary Herald
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/calgary/calgaryherald/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/66
Author: Jamie Komarnicki
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

DETOX PROGRAM OFFERS HOPE, SAY PARENTS

Nearly 400 Get Drug Treatment

Finding drug paraphernalia in her son's room, installing spyware on 
the family computer to root out dealer contacts, watching her 
16-year-old turn into a total stranger -- it was the piling up of 
events that led to rock bottom for a Calgary mom.

"He wasn't our son anymore; he was somebody we didn't even 
recognize," said Anne, whose last name has been withheld to protect 
her son's identity.

"We were absolutely desperate. Our son was spiralling downhill." That 
desperation led her to take advantage of a new Alberta law and send 
her drug-addicted child to a detoxification facility for five days.

Since it came into effect on July 1, 2006, the Protection of Children 
Abusing Drugs Act has seen nearly 400 children between the ages of 12 
and 17 -- including about 60 from the Calgary region -- go into drug treatment.

Only Alberta and Saskatchewan have legislation allowing parents to 
seek court-ordered confinement.

While the legislation has met with criticism, advocates contend the 
program is a success: nearly 60 per cent of the children forced into 
the facilities stay on for voluntary help.

"The numbers themselves are surprising," said Silvia Vajushi, the 
Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission's executive director of 
youth services. "There were certainly more referrals than we 
expected." When they arrive, most of the children are overwhelmed, 
afraid and angry with their parents.

The goal of the program, which cost $13.9 million in its first year, 
is to get the children to see they have a problem.

The legislation is also making parents aware that they shouldn't wait 
too long to intervene when they notice their children are becoming 
addicted to drugs.

The program, however, has had its share of problems.

More than 80 children have been through the program more than once. 
Some have returned as many as four times.

Sometimes, the children sleep for three straight days after they 
arrive, so counsellors have only two days to work with them.

Some 112 children have appealed their court orders; judges overturned 58 cases.

Anne's son is doing better now.

When he started attending a new high school in Grade 10, he hooked up 
with the wrong crowd, his mother said.

Eventually, her son was arrested for smoking a joint outside a movie 
theatre. He was also using ecstasy and cocaine.

At wit's end, his parents turned to the new law, sending their son to 
a detoxification facility last month.

At the end of the five-day treatment, he did something unusual , Anne said.

He approached his mother, gave her a hug and kiss, and thanked her.

"I've seen a real difference in him," said Anne.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom