Alberta's War On Drugs

Let me start by saying that I have no interest in debating the degree to which decriminalization or legalization of drugs could affect the need for assistance. I support at least limited efforts in those areas, but that's not what this post is about.

CBC radio program As It Happens had a story last night about Alberta's new law, slated to take effect on 1 July 2006, allowing parents of minors to intercede with the support of the courts when those minors are addicted to drugs. Now, this is the tricky part.

If a parent has evidence that the child is involved with drugs, he or she may go to a judge and put forth that evidence. If the judge then agrees that there is an issue, he or she may issue a seizure order that allows the parents, backed by governmental authority, to forcibly take the child into custody for a mandatory 5-day detox.

The original bill also included a follow-up mandatory 90-day counseling period, but that was deemed dangerous from a legal standpoint and was pulled. Toothless as the stripped-down version may seem, this demonstrates an amazing amount of will to fix a problem in a (relatively) non-punitive manner. These kids are not being thrown into jail, though their freedoms are being restricted for almost a week (try being grounded); instead, they are puking their guts out enough that they will have a chance to see the world without a meth-induced haze interfering with their thoughts.

OK, that said, let me add this: It will almost certainly reduce sustained drug use by teens in the province, but it doesn't address the issues of supply, production, or initial use. It's better than what many countries offer, less good than it might have been. I'm still ambiguous on this one, but my initial reaction is that this is the right way to fight the war, at least while the drugs are illegal. I don't suppose anyone would happen to have drug use figures from Alberta and British Columbia, would they?