Andrew Weaver urges 'very cautious' approach to law changes over prescriptions for teens

Elliot Eurchuk and Dorrian Wright, both 16-year-old students from Vancouver Island, are two of the most recent names on a long list of youth whohave died in the ongoing overdose crisis.

Wright died last week and Eurchuk in April.

Brock Eurchuk says hisson's drug use started after he was prescribed opioids for four surgical procedures last year, even though the family had requested alternative treatments.

On Friday, Andrew Weaver, Green Party leader and MLA for Oak Bay-Gordon Head, met with Elliot Eurchuk's parents who are pushing for changesto B.C. laws which prevented them from having a say in their son's prescriptions.

Weaver talked to Gregor Craigie, the host of CBC's On The Island, about the meeting and what legislativechanges he hopes to see.

Rachel Staples and Brock Eurchuk say they were prevented from being involved in the medical treatment of their teenage son. What do you think of their assertion that youth as young as 14 should not be able to exclude their parents from any knowledge of an opioid prescription they might be given?

I think they have a very good case here.

You can imagine a young teenager going to seek a prescription for birth control pills and having some concern about whether or not their parents would know.

That's quite a different situation from prescriptions for opioids.

The Liberals introduced the Safe Care Act last year, that would allow parents to step in when their children are addicted. Do you support this law?

I like to go back to the representative forchildren and youth, Bernard Richard, who wrote a statement about suggesting that it's a type of act that needs extensive consultation.

Certainly, this is part of a broader way forward.

The danger is if you just blindly introduce legislation that allows for, essentially, going in and taking children out of situations without of thinking of the broader consequences, there could be negative consequences.

How do you imagine the balance being achieved through legislation?

There has to be a very, very cautious approach.

I believe what the ministry is doing right now is those extensive consultations with experts in order to ensure that the right legislation is brought in.

Judy Darcy is the new mental health minister. What would you like to see her do? How quickly should we expect some action from the government?

I would like to see some legislation within the year on this.

When the situation with the Eurchuks came to the forefront, my office had already been in touch with her office about this.

We have been advised that in fact they are, right as we are speaking, dealing with this broader issue and the consultations process is forthcoming. It is ongoing and it will continue.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. To listen to the full interview, click on the audio link below:

With files from On The Island.