UCP considering involuntary drug treatment legislation in Alberta

The UCP is considering a law that would force people with severe drug addictions to be placed into treatment without their consent, according to documents obtained by The Globe and Mail. 

The Compassionate Intervention Act would be the first involuntary treatment law in Canada to target addiction. 

Some jurisdictions, including Alberta, already use mental health laws to push people into drug treatment without court orders in exceptionally severe situations. 

The Globe says this legislation would give police, as well as the family or legal guardian of drug users, sweeping rights to refer adults and youth to involuntary treatment if they pose risks to themselves or others. 

Euan Thomson, the executive director of Each + Every: Businesses for Harm Reduction, says the approach could lead to more overdoses. 

"They're put into severe withdrawal by going into these, so it really is like torture. If people aren't ready for treatment, then we can't force them into it," he said. 

"Where are the people who use drugs in this decision-making process? … More supervised consumption sites, more safe supply, all these sorts of measures that people are asking for, but the government is just turning their back on them time and time again."

The Globe's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy request covers hundreds of pages of emails, internal reports and government analysis of laws in Australia, Portugal, Massachusetts and Washington State. 

"We have to actually look into what's happening in these countries and whether it's working in these countries because if we are going to limit individual Charter rights in this manner, it has to be evidence-based," said Lorian Hardcastle, a law professor at the University of Calgary. 

"From a constitutional perspective, it is a violation of your rights to, for example, life, liberty and security of the person, to receive medical treatments you haven't consented to."

A statement from Mental Health and Addiction Minister Nicholas Milliken's office confirmed the "potential development of a Compassionate Intervention Act."

His office also directed CTV to Keith Humphreys, a psychiatry professor at Stanford University, who has been advising the government.

"We have multiple studies showing that people who are under a mandate to go to addiction treatment have outcomes that are about the same or sometimes even a little better than people who don't," Humphreys said. 

"There's certainly a strong case for (involuntary drug treatment) as a way to intervene with people who are not in a state to judge very well what is best for them and what is best for the people around them."

Mike Ellis, the former associate minister of mental health and addiction, is keeping an open mind. 

"All options are on the table. I think we have to do whatever it takes to make sure that we protect people. It's part of that recovery-oriented system of care," he said. 

The Opposition NDP says this approach will not solve the drug poisoning crisis. 

"To help someone suffering from addiction, you need to meet them where they are. The UCP's failure to do this has left thousands of Alberta families grieving a lost loved one," Alberta NDP Mental Health and Addiction Critic Lori Sigurdson said in a statement. 

Any new legislation will have to wait until after the May 29 provincial election. 

Leaders in other parts of the country, including Toronto and British Columbia, are also debating involuntary treatment for complex mental health and addiction issues.