Week 11: Drug Law and Policy in Canada (Crime vs. Health)

Question 1

What are the main points from the “war on drugs around the world” video? What are the stats related to US and Mexico?
How did Switzerland handle their drug crisis?

Answer 1

War on drugs is futile use of expenses, impossible to stop influx of drugs and distribution (traditional method does not work)

US: 25-75% higher rates of homicide due to war on drugs
- Most damage: incarceration of non-violent drug offenders (harsh punishments, mandatory minimum), disproportionality effects minorities

Mexico: from 2006-2014 estimated 150,000 - 164,000 people have been killed in drug related fighting (more than in Afghanistan Iraq wars)

Switzerland experienced a heroin abuse crisis that lead to high crime rates and HIV transmission rates

• took a harm reduction approach by opening centers to treat addicts
• Saw drastic decrease in crime, HIV and rates of addiction
• Lots of

Question 2

How is the Canadian budget distributed in terms of drug policy/enforcement? Who gets the most money?

Answer 2

Fischer - notes that illegal drugs account for estimated 43% of CJ expenditures
Police receive largest share of CJ budgets
- up to 9/11 RMCPs main reasons for being was drug law and received 1/3 of budget for law enforcement

Question 3

Provide a brief history of Cannabis in Canada

Answer 3

1923 - Made illegal and added to act to prohibit the use of opium and other drugs (joined opium, heroin and cocaine)
2001 - legalized medical cannabis (court ruling)
2018 - legalized consumption and sale of recreational cannabis

Question 4

What is the opioid crisis?

Answer 4

Rapid rise in rates of drug overdose and death involving

• Prescription opioids
• Increasingly toxic illegal drugs due to increased presence of powerful illegal substances such as fentanyl (50-100 times more potent than morphine)

Question 5

What has been the recent response of the federal government vs. what was done in the past?

Answer 5

Shift from relative inaction of conservative government (2016, no money was set aside) to recognition as a “national public health crisis”
Addressing crisis is a top priority for minister of health - working with provinces, territories, and other partners to take a collaborative approach

Question 6

What are the four focuses of the current collaborative approach to handling the opioid crisis?

Answer 6

1. Prevention
2. Treatment
3. Harm reduction
4. Enforcement (decrease tainted drug supply)

Question 7

Name three actions each that result from prevention and treatment routes of handling the opioid crisis?

Answer 7

Prevention

• Further restrict opioid marketing activities
• Expanding public awareness about drugs and harms of stigma
• Working with professionals to decrease stigma and related barriers to care

Treatment

• Allowed import of medication approved elsewhere for urgent public health needs
• Increased opioid agonist therapy in federal prisons
• Enhanced delivery of culturally appropriate substances use treatment and prevention services in first nations and Inuit communities

Question 8

Name three actions each that result from harm reduction and enforcement routes of handling the opioid crisis?

Answer 8

Harm reduction

• Support the good Samaritan drug overdose act which provides some legal protection for individuals who seek emergency help during overdose
• Authorized drug checking services at supervised consumption sites
• Enhanced funding to community orgs dealing with substance use and addiction

Enforcement

• Equipped border agents to better intercept fentanyl at border
• Restricted importation of chemicals used to produce fentanyl at border
• Working with private sector partners to address laundering of proceeds of trafficking

Question 9

What is happening in Sault St Marie? What is the mayor’s response to this issue?

Answer 9

Decrease in economic opportunities (specifically steel - lots being produced in china/effects of globalization) have caused people to cope with struggles with drug use
People are overdosing at an alarming rate
- using synthetic drugs which are all laced with fentanyl: nobody really knows what they are shooting up

Mayor’s response

• this issue hasn’t been raised with him as much as economic crisis
• not an intentional effort to ignore the issue, just pre-occupied with other problems