Adriana Falcon's father tried to stop teen's overdose
The father of a White Rock teen who died from a heroin overdose says he desperately tried to help his daughter, but B.C. laws made it difficult for family members to make decisions on her behalf.
Adriana Falcon, 15, died last week of a drug overdose at a Vancouver boarding house.
Rick Falcon told CBC News his daughter was "a very bubbly, outgoing child" who was involved in gymnastics and cheerleading.
But things changed last July when Falcon says Adriana was sexually assaulted at a White Rock beach party by three males. No one was charged.
Falcon says his daughter started drinking and using drugs after that.
Fearing that Adriana was putting her life at risk, Falcon says he had her "certified" and taken into the psych ward Surrey Memorial Hospital, but she had herself de-certified and she was released 19 days later.
Falcon told CBC News he wants legislation that will enable parents to put children into mandatory treatment.
"I think there needs to be something in place that's going to make a decision for a child who's at the high risk that she's at," he told CBC News.
"I think if you're under the age of 16, if you meet certain criteria on self-destructive behaviour, that there should be something mandatory within our legal system that's going to find you the help."
After the teen's death, Vancouver police issued a public warning asking people who use heroin to do it in the presence of others or in facilities like Insite.
But Insite — the supervised injection site in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside — does not permit anyone under the age of 16 to inject on its premises.
"As a parent you can restraint your kid, I guess," Falcon said. "My guess is social services would also be at your door. Short of that, I don't know what's available out there. I couldn't find it."
