"Compassionate" Intervention

Care is NOT Forced

Say NO to Forced Care:

The Government of Alberta is tabling the Compassionate Intervention Act (CIA) to force people who use drugs into private, abstinence-only treatment. They have committed $180M over the next 3 years to building two involuntary treatment centers in Edmonton and in Calgary.

The 4B Team is opposed to involuntary care because this practice is ineffective, harmful, not supported by research, and it does not deal with the underlying conditions that are present that often lead to drug poisonings and homelessness.

Furthermore, we ask WHY we would spend millions on involuntary care while people who are asking for help have to wait weeks and sometimes months to access the treatments available, and often times individuals don't reach the day they are able to get treatment?

Care should HEAL, not CONTROL

Some describe the CIA as "PChAD for adults".

The Protection of Children Abusing Drugs (PChAD) Act allows parents and guardians to have their child apprehended and taken into short term care without the child's consent.

The PChAD legislation was passed in 2006, yet there is no positive reporting on the effectiveness or health outcomes for youth subjected to this program. Members of our community are traumatized by their experiences being subjected to this program and many mourn loved ones who died shortly after being forced into treatment.

Response to the UCP's announcement February 24th 2025:

Alberta Politics - David Climenhaga: 'compassionate intervention centers' will be jails (2/25/25)
CityTV: Albertan Drug Policy Advocacy Group Opposing Involuntary Addictions Treatment Centers (2/24/25)

Involuntary Treatment Data At-A-Glance:

Two weeks after release from incarceration, overdose deaths were 27x higher than expected in the general population. (May 2023)
A Massachusetts study found that 1/3 of drug court participants with opioid use disorder (OUD) relapsed on the day of the programs completion, and 1/2 relapsed by two months after completion. (October 2018)
Involuntary Care Already Exists in BC, But Is It Working? (September 2024)