group opposes involuntary treatment as alberta government mulls legislation
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an organization representing families who have lost loved ones to drug poisoning is calling on the alberta government to not implement involuntary addiction treatment legislation.
in a letter written to the province, moms stop the harm says forced treatment is a violation of individual rights, will cause further harm or death, and those voluntarily seeking treatment are already facing long wait times.
the concerns come after the globe and mail reported that the ucp government has been considering legislation — considered the compassionate intervention act — that would give police, family or legal guardians of drug users sweeping rights that would place them into treatment without their consent if they pose a risk to themselves or others.
angela welz, a moms stop the harm member, has experience with involuntary treatment using alberta’s protection of children in care (pchad) program for her daughter zoe. the program allows parents to get a court order to put their children in detox against their will.
zoe began using substances in order to cope after her father was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
“the process was really daunting and very difficult and having a youth under the age of 18 apprehended by police and escorted in handcuffs and in a police car to a safe house, it’s a violation of rights,” welz said. “she didn’t do anything wrong other than the fact that she was using substances to cope with a very difficult situation she was going through.”
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after zoe left the program, welz said she severed relationships and alienated herself from her family. zoe died in november 2016 at the age of 18 from a fentanyl poisoning.
“if i knew then what i know now i would never have done pchad, never,” welz said, saying it caused more harm than good.
in an emailed statement, colin aitchison, press secretary to mental health and addiction minister nick milliken, said the minister was tasked in his mandate letter to bring forward “recommendations to improve interventions for albertans with addiction who may be a danger to themselves or others as a result of their drug use.”
aitchison said at this time no decisions have been made, however, “options for compassionate intervention initiatives are being considered by ministry officials.”
moms stop the harm, however, is calling on the province to take a number of actions instead, such as investing in a range of treatment options, and providing a regulated supply of drugs to counter the toxic street supply.
“the involuntary care portion might work for some but we can’t even get those who want to go into treatment voluntarily to be processed right away,” welz said. “there shouldn’t be a waitlist of one to three months.”
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aitchison outlined initiatives the government has taken to provide access to treatment, including eliminating user fees, expanding the virtual opioid dependency program and building new recovery communities that will increase the number of treatment beds.
“the solution to the addiction crisis is not simply providing more drugs to people with addiction without any controls or engagement in a treatment program,” he said.
more than 1,600 albertans died of a drug poisoning in 2022, a decrease from the previous year but at a rate that remains higher than prior to the covid-19 pandemic.
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