- The purpose of The Youth Drug Detoxification and Stabilization Act is to assist youth (ages 12 to 17) who have severe drug or alcohol use that puts them at risk of further harm to themselves or someone else due to their use to receive treatment.
- If a youth’s parent, person with close personal relationship or youth worker believe the youth is at risk due to their substance use, they can make an appointment with a provincial court judge who may issue a warrant to have the youth be conveyed for assessment to the Secure Youth Detox Unit located at the Regina General Hospital, the evidence must be presented to a judge of the Provincial Court. It may also be valuable to consult with your closest Saskatchewan Health Authority Mental Health and Addictions office.
- If successful, a warrant will be issued to apprehend the youth, who is then taken to a physician for assessment which may lead to involuntary treatment if the youth is:
- suffering from severe drug addiction or drug abuse and requires detention to facilitate detoxification and stabilization;
- is likely to cause harm to themselves or to others; or
- to suffer substantial mental or physical deterioration, if they are not detained in a detoxification facility; and is either:
- unable to fully understand and to make an informed decision respecting their need to detoxify or stabilize; or
- unable or unwilling to take steps to begin recovery from drug addiction or drug abuse or to reduce the risk of harm to themselves or other persons.
- If these criteria are met, the individual can be detained for five day periods and repeated for up to 15 days if the criteria continues to be met. There is one unit for these services located at the Regina General Hospital.
For more information on this process, visit Courts of Saskatchewan.