Alberta Soon to Pass Outpatient Forced Drugging Law

NEWS FLASH - ALBERTA SOON TO PASS OUTPATIENT FORCED DRUGGING LAW

Source: http://www.canoe.ca/EdmontonNews/03n2.html

Mentally ill may be forced to take meds

By DAVID SANDS -- Staff Writer

Alberta may force mentally ill people to take their medication or face being confined.

A committee at the Alberta Mental Health Board is examining the impact of such laws in four provinces and is expected to make recommendations to the government shortly.

"We are looking at legislation elsewhere, in jurisdictions where someone who is not taking their medication can be forced to take it," said Alberta Mental Health Board spokesman Mike Pietrus.

Advocacy groups for the mentally ill have divided into two "polarized" sides of the debate, Pietrus said.

The argument is over whether current laws are too lax because they only allow authorities to apprehend someone who currently poses a clear danger to himself or others.

Saskatchewan and Ontario have laws that allow "community commitment" of people who could foreseeably pose a danger because they're not taking their medication.

B.C. and Quebec have laws that apply to individuals released from treatment facilities, allowing authorities to take them back into care if necessary.

Liberal MLA Laurie Blakeman, critic for human rights and mental health, said the government will have to move carefully on any recommendation from the mental health board.

"I would question any law or program that forces someone to put something in their body that they don't want in their body," Blakeman said. "At the same time we have to recognize that these families are asking for help and not getting it."

The mother of a local schizophrenic said she dreams of a law that would compel her son to take his medication.

"I think it's an absolute dream come true and the end of a nightmare," said the mother, who didn't want her name printed. "My son is a wonderful guy when he's functioning normally."

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