Andrew Raven
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Sep 01/03) - John Harrison can't shake the memory of the two weeks he spent in jail last November.

"It was the worst place in the world to be," he said.

"The other prisoners were all hating on me. There were all kinds of rumours going around about what I had done. It was like hell."

Harrison spent the time in jail after he was caught breaking into a Yellowknife area business along with another man.

But unlike his partner in crime, Harrison suffers from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), a wide-ranging disorder caused by prenatal exposure to alcohol.

People with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder -- a catch-all phrase that covers a wide variety of alcohol-related birth defects like FAS-- are often under-sized and have distorted facial features. They can also suffer from a number of behavioral problems and learning disorders.

Others, like Harrison, have difficulty appreciating the consequences of the actions.

"I don't think I should have spent time in jail," he says. "People should only go to jail for serious crimes like rape and murder."

While Harrison's FAS isn't severe, he says he is too trusting of others.

"I followed the guy I was with. I knew I shouldn't have gone with him. But he said if we caught, he would take all the blame."

Doreen Baptiste, who works at the Yellowknife Association for Community Living, says many FASD sufferers like Harrison end up in jail instead of getting the help they need.

"That isn't the way to deal with the problem. People with FASD need to be treated like anyone else with a mental disorder."

Nancy Galway, who works at the John Howard Society -- a non-profit legal aid organization-- says the correctional system is full of prisoners who suffer from FASD.

"There aren't very many mechanisms in place to ensure they get treatment instead of jail time."

The Salvation Army's Patricia Gervais says a big reason for that is a budget-conscious legal system.

"Most people with FASD rely on legal aid when they are (accused of a crime)," said Gervais.

"Most of the time, legal aid attorneys don't even know if their clients suffer from FASD. It's not because they're irresponsible. It's because they don't have the time look deeply into their client's background."

Baptiste says the situation is complicated by a lack of diagnostic facilities in the NWT.

"The closest clinic to Yellowknife is Cold Lake Alta., and that's one of the few in Western Canada," she said.

According to Baptiste many of the people who suffer FASD don't show any physical signs of the disease, making it difficult for attorneys and judges to recognize their disability.

"They look just like everyone else," she said. "But they don't have the same ability to understand the consequences of their actions."

"You will find FASD patients commit the same crimes over and over an over again."

Baptiste says the stigma surrounding FAS also means parents fail to get their children diagnosed.

"There is such an overwhelming sense of shame when it comes to the disease because it is entirely preventable."

"Parents would much rather believe their kids have attention deficit disorder or something like that, instead of FAS."

The Community Living Association will host a workshop on September eight and ninth to examine the legal issues surrounding FAS.

On hand will be Const. Jim Olsen, a Lethbridge police officer who won the Minister of Justice Policing Award for his work with FAS sufferers.

Baptiste says Olsen will talk about alternative ways of dealing with FASD patients.

But Baptiste says that ultimately the best way to deal with FASD catch it before it starts.

"Mothers need to realize that they can do significant harm to their babies if they drink while pregnant. Everyone needs to be aware of that."

"It's entirely preventable."

John Harrison knows that better than most.

"I often think that if my (birth) mother had decided not to drink, I would have been normal," he said.

History

of FAS

While scientists only began studying FAS the late 1960s, there's evidence that people have know for two millennia that alcohol can severely affect the development of a fetus.

Passages in Judaism's holy book, the Talmud, warn against drinking wine while pregnant. "Rabbi Nacham claims his daughters are beautiful because he is an abstainer but Rabbi Bibi's daughter need cosmetics because her father is a drinker."

Around 300 B.C, the Greek philosopher Plato counselled newlyweds to abstain from drinking so that "the child that is begotten may be sprung from the loins of sober parents."

The Bible also calls on mothers to avoid alcohol while pregnant. "You shall conceive and bear a son, so then drink no wine or strong drink..."