**Names in this story have been changed to protect the identities of those involved.
To save her son91裸聊视频檚 life, Claire Madre is planning to pack up her family this fall and move from Kelowna.
91裸聊视频淚 don91裸聊视频檛 think I have any choice,91裸聊视频� she said, explaining that she believes a B.C. law that protects her child91裸聊视频檚 privacy is actually putting him in harm91裸聊视频檚 way.
Alberta, on the other hand, has a law that will give her the power she needs to parent her son.
91裸聊视频淯nless he turns things around by the end of summer, we will have to go,91裸聊视频� she said.
91裸聊视频淓ven then I91裸聊视频檓 not sure this is the right place. The situation is dire in B.C.91裸聊视频�
Madre91裸聊视频檚 15 year-old son Peter has been working with health care workers and school administrations for the last six years in Kelowna dealing with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
Although they tried to help him overcome his difficulties their efforts fell flat, and this year Peter descended into local drug culture.
Urine tests Madre cajoled him into taking in the last few months indicate he91裸聊视频檚 been on pot, cocaine, hallucinogens and opioids, possibly the likes of fentynal which has already taken a dozen local lives in the last six months according to the Coroner91裸聊视频檚 Office.
Online communications between her son and his friends that she91裸聊视频檚 peered into offer an even longer list of illicit substances.
91裸聊视频淭his drug problem really started this September when he reached high school,91裸聊视频� Madre said.
91裸聊视频淗e started hanging out at (a local park) and started declining fast. He was skipping school and I was in non-stop contact with the high school principal and his teachers, who were telling me he was high in class.91裸聊视频�
She eventually pulled him out of regular school. The administration91裸聊视频檚 multiple attempts to adjust classes so they would work for Peter failed and he still wasn91裸聊视频檛 going.
Peter then entered a less structured program, which also didn91裸聊视频檛 work.
91裸聊视频淗e91裸聊视频檚 just not obligated to attend school if he doesn91裸聊视频檛 want to91裸聊视频e can just say 91裸聊视频業91裸聊视频檓 done91裸聊视频� and he doesn91裸聊视频檛 have to do anything,91裸聊视频� said Madre.
91裸聊视频淪ince then it91裸聊视频檚 escalated to him not coming home for 12 to 14 hours at a time. I would call the cops, they would say there was nothing I could do.91裸聊视频�
While police officers went to her home in an attempt to set him straight, she said her son wasn91裸聊视频檛 even marginally moved by the show.
She can91裸聊视频檛 confine him to her home, forbidding that he go out, as she would be in the wrong in the eyes of the law.
So Madre went to his new group of friends and told them to leave him alone91裸聊视频攁 request that also went unheeded.
91裸聊视频淚 can91裸聊视频檛 get him committed so he can detox because he would have to be suicidal, commit a crime or volunteer to be committed,91裸聊视频� she said.
91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檝e tried everything, he91裸聊视频檚 not parent-able right now. He91裸聊视频檚 oppositional and defiant, and he can do whatever he wants because the laws work in his favour.91裸聊视频�
That realization came after her pediatrician recommended she go to the B.C. Child & Youth Mental Health office to access their services for Peter91裸聊视频檚 problems.
When she spoke to workers, she said Peter had OCD, anxiety and addiction
91裸聊视频淭hey said they could help with OCD and anxiety, not the concerns with addiction 91裸聊视频 kept talking to them about it, but it was kind of ignored. There was nothing they could offer me,91裸聊视频� she said.
The local Child and Youth mental health office wasn91裸聊视频檛 able to comment on the situation, but Madre said she91裸聊视频檚 experienced that kind of response a few times.
She believes it91裸聊视频檚 because most government agencies with the programs that could help her son are bound by the Infant Act.
91裸聊视频淚n B.C., your teenager has to be a willing participant to any treatment,91裸聊视频� she said.
91裸聊视频淭here could be a thousand resources in your community, but if the teenager doesn91裸聊视频檛 want to access them, you can91裸聊视频檛 do anything.91裸聊视频�
The Infant Act gives autonomy to young people who want to access medical treatments they may not want their parents be privy to.
It allows anyone under the age of 19 to consent to their own medical care if they91裸聊视频檙e capable.
Capability is measured simply by a young person understanding the need for medical treatment, what the treatment involves, the benefits and risks of getting the treatment and the benefits and risks of not getting the treatment.
91裸聊视频淚f the doctor or other health care provider explains these things and decides that the child understands them, the care provider can treat the child without permission from the parents or guardians,91裸聊视频� reads a B.C. government webpage describing the act.
Children who are capable can normally get medical treatment without their parents91裸聊视频� or guardian91裸聊视频檚 consent for things like birth control, abortion, mental health problems, sexually transmitted diseases, or alcohol and drug addiction.
What91裸聊视频檚 galling to Madre is that a doctor or health care provider can91裸聊视频檛 talk to the parents or guardian about a capable child91裸聊视频檚 medical care unless the child agrees.
91裸聊视频淛ust as doctors must keep information about their adult patients confidential, they must also keep information about their child patients confidential, but there are some limits to this rule,91裸聊视频� reads the government page.
91裸聊视频淪ome doctors insist on telling a child91裸聊视频檚 parent or guardian if they treat the child. If you91裸聊视频檙e a child and you want your doctor to keep your medical information confidential, it91裸聊视频檚 important to tell them that.91裸聊视频�
The desire to move is simply a way to get around her son91裸聊视频檚 triggering of privacy measures91裸聊视频攕omething she said he likely learned the power of from his peer group, which Madre said is well informed on how to protect their drug interests.
A local youth and mental health counsellor actually gave her the idea.
91裸聊视频淗e told me your best bet is to save him is to move to Alberta,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淚 said, 91裸聊视频楶ardon me?91裸聊视频� He said, 91裸聊视频楴ow you know.91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�
For the first time she realized she could do something.
91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 a law in Alberta that can force them into getting treatment.91裸聊视频�
It91裸聊视频檚 called the The Protection of Children Abusing Drugs Act (PChAD) and it took effect in Alberta on July 1, 2006, and was amended on July 1, 2012.
The law is aimed at helping children under 18 years of age whose use of alcohol or drugs is likely to cause significant psychological or physical harm to themselves or physical harm to others.
The PChAD program allows you, as a legal guardian, to ask the court for a protection order.
This order will mean a child can be taken to a protective safe house for up to 10 days, even if he/she does not want to go.
This 10 day period will provide the child with a structured and protective setting in which to begin detoxification, while providing parents an opportunity to get involved in the process.
The time spent in the protective safe house also allows counsellors a chance to assess a child91裸聊视频檚 substance use and offer treatment recommendations to follow once they have been discharged from the program.
91裸聊视频淚 have been through every resource available. But this may be the only thing I can do91裸聊视频eople here don91裸聊视频檛 know,91裸聊视频� she said, adding that she communicates with a network of moms who are in different stages of the same problem.
91裸聊视频淯nless you have a troubled youth and are looking for resources you are living in a bubble. There is no help in B.C. unless your child wants it and the situation with drugs is dire.91裸聊视频�
Watch for more stories on this issue in the 91裸聊视频.
