Drug policy of Canada
Encyclopedia
Canada's drug regulations are covered by the Food and Drug Act and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act
. Governor-in-Council
.
Drug policy
of Canada has traditionally favored punishment of the smallest of offenders, but this convention was partially broken in 1996 with the passing of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
in droves, establishing opium den
s in their isolated communities. Canadian employers saw the Chinese immigrants as a source of cheap labor, and the government viewed opium consumption as another way to gain revenue, imposing a tax on opium factories in 1871. However, with the decline of the gold rush in the 1880s resentment towards the Chinese grew, as unemployed Canadians could not compete with cheap Chinese labor. Additionally, Japanese immigration to Canada began to rise sharply, resulting in demonstrations against Asian labor. In 1907, there was a particularly large demonstration against Asian immigrants in Vancouver
's Chinatown. In response to the demonstrations, Deputy Minister of Labour
Mackenzie King travelled to British Columbia and interviewed two opium merchants. King was concerned with the growing numbers of white opium users and believed that Canada had to set the precedent on drug use worldwide. The following year the government enacted the Opium Act of 1908, which made it an offence to import, manufacture, possess or sell opium, while not making it an imprisonable offence. The same year, Parliament passed the Proprietary and Patent Medicine Act 1908, prohibiting the use of cocaine in medicines and requiring pharmaceutical companies to list on the label the ingredients of any medicine if heroin, morphine, or opium was part of the contents.
The 1908 drug law created a black market for opium, and law enforcement officials believed that the only way to stop this black market was through imprisonment for offenders, so the Opium and Drugs Act 1911 was passed by Parliament. This created harsher penalties for drug offenders and also expanded the list of prohibited drugs to include morphine
and cocaine
, while cannabis
was included in 1923. During World War I, all provinces enacted prohibition
, a decision repealed in all areas except Prince Edward Island
by 1929. In 1921 the penalties of the Opium and Drugs Act were expanded to provide for a seven year prison sentence for crimes committed under the Act. The amendment also made it an offence to be in a building that contained narcotics, notably shifting the burden of proof to the defendant for this crime. Whipping and deportation became penalties for violations of the 1911 Act in 1922.
Canada's 1920s drug policy was strikingly different to that of the present day. Drug users were considered more as criminals than as those with an illness, and the enforcement of drug laws was given precedence over the treatment of offenders. Additionally, almost three-quarters of those convicted by the 1911 drug laws were Chinese in 1922. This led many white Canadians to believe that the drug laws had no effect on them; they thought they only applied to those of Asiatic descent.
In 1929 the Opium and Narcotic Drug Act was enacted, establishing harsher penalties for drug users. This was to become the main drug regulation in Canada until the late 1960s. In 1954, the penalty for drug trafficking was doubled from seven to fourteen years. During that decade, the media published highly sensationalized
reports of drug use amongst youths, even though the rate of drug use in Canada was actually declining. In 1961, the Narcotic Control Act
made the possession of cannabis, amongst other drugs, an indictable offence
and made the minimum sentence for drug trafficking fourteen years (as opposed to the previous maximum sentence).
Between 1969 and 1973 the Commission of Inquiry into the Non Medical Use of Drugs (or the Le Dain Commission) examined the use of narcotics in Canada and recommended that the drug laws were changed to become more lenient and gradually decriminalize illicit drugs. Although consensus in Parliament appeared to be gradually turning in favor of implementing the Commission's recommendations, the drug laws remained unchanged, although a bill to remove cannabis from the Narcotic Control Act and create a new Part V of the Food and Drugs Act
reducing sentences for all offences did pass the Senate but failed in the House of Commons.
In 1988, advocating the use of cannabis or cannabis-related products (including hemp
) became a crime punishable by $100,000 for a first offence and $300,000 for a second offence, meaning that simply publishing an opinion article with a favorable position on cannabis became illegal. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws Canada's office in Ontario was raided by police after being charged with breaking Section 462.2 of the Criminal Code for handing out brochures advocating the legalization of cannabis. In 1994, the Ontario Court of Justice
ruled that Section 462.2 stifled freedom of expression and overturned the ban on literature, taking effect only in Ontario. The same year, an Ontario farmer is allowed to grow ten acres of cannabis on his property to research its agricultural potential.
In 1996 the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act
was passed. This law repealed the Narcotic Control Act
and Parts III and IV of the Food and Drug Act (parts dealing with the advertisement of controlled substances). This Act classified drugs into eight schedules, I to VIII. While the punishments for trafficking illicit drugs in Schedules I and II increased to a maximum of life imprisonment, the penalties for the possession of drugs in Schedule VIII (up to 30g of cannabis and 1g of hashish
) decreased to a maximum six months imprisonment and/or a maximum fine of $1000.
Since the enactment of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, various courts have struck down parts of the law and amendments have been passed by Parliament. In 2001, Canada became the first country in the world to legalize the use of cannabis for the terminally ill and three years later the Minister of Justice
Irwin Cotler
announced that legislation is being proposed in the House of Commons to allow for lesser penalties for the possession of cannabis, while toughening penalties for large drug operations.
n and East Asia
n countries, in the four year period 1997-2001 the street price of cocaine actually fell by almost thirteen US dollar
s a gram, from $94.3/gram to $81.6/gram. However, since 1995, the Canadian crime rate has been decreasing, from 131 persons per 100,000 incarcerated in 1995 to 107 persons per 100,000 in 2004.
Additionally, Canada is a producer and exporter of both cannabis and ecstasy, a trend that harsher penalties for those caught has failed to stop.
Recently, the idea of drug court
s has gained popularity in Canada, numbering in the hundreds. These drug courts attempt to divert those that violate controlled drugs regulations from prisons into treatment programs. The Canadian model is based on the American
drug court system, which aimed to reduce prison overcrowding after it was found that up to three-quarters of the prison population growth could be attributed to drug offenders. One example of a Canadian drug court is found in Toronto
, where one has been operating since 1998. However, the success of this court is dubious; of the 284 drug offenders referred to the Toronto drug court, over two-thirds were expelled from the program.
Controlled Drugs and Substances Act
The Controlled Drugs and Substances Act is Canada's federal drug control statute. Passed in 1996 by the Chrétien government, it repeals the Narcotic Control Act and Parts III and IV of the Food and Drug Act and establishes eight Schedules of controlled substances and two Classes of precursors...
. Governor-in-Council
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
.
Drug policy
Drug policy
A drug policy most often refers to a government's attempt to combat the negative effects of drug addiction and misuse in its society. Governments try to combat drug addiction with policies which address both the demand and supply of drugs, as well as policies which can mitigate the harms of drug...
of Canada has traditionally favored punishment of the smallest of offenders, but this convention was partially broken in 1996 with the passing of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
History
Until 1908 the use of narcotics, opiates especially, in Canada was unregulated. From the 1850s onwards, Chinese immigrants came to British ColumbiaBritish Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
in droves, establishing opium den
Opium den
An opium den was an establishment where opium was sold and smoked. Opium dens were prevalent in many parts of the world in the 19th century, most notably China, Southeast Asia, North America and France...
s in their isolated communities. Canadian employers saw the Chinese immigrants as a source of cheap labor, and the government viewed opium consumption as another way to gain revenue, imposing a tax on opium factories in 1871. However, with the decline of the gold rush in the 1880s resentment towards the Chinese grew, as unemployed Canadians could not compete with cheap Chinese labor. Additionally, Japanese immigration to Canada began to rise sharply, resulting in demonstrations against Asian labor. In 1907, there was a particularly large demonstration against Asian immigrants in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
's Chinatown. In response to the demonstrations, Deputy Minister of Labour
Minister of Labour (Canada)
The Minister of Labour is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for setting national labour standards and federal labour dispute mechanisms...
Mackenzie King travelled to British Columbia and interviewed two opium merchants. King was concerned with the growing numbers of white opium users and believed that Canada had to set the precedent on drug use worldwide. The following year the government enacted the Opium Act of 1908, which made it an offence to import, manufacture, possess or sell opium, while not making it an imprisonable offence. The same year, Parliament passed the Proprietary and Patent Medicine Act 1908, prohibiting the use of cocaine in medicines and requiring pharmaceutical companies to list on the label the ingredients of any medicine if heroin, morphine, or opium was part of the contents.
The 1908 drug law created a black market for opium, and law enforcement officials believed that the only way to stop this black market was through imprisonment for offenders, so the Opium and Drugs Act 1911 was passed by Parliament. This created harsher penalties for drug offenders and also expanded the list of prohibited drugs to include morphine
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
and cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
, while cannabis
Cannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
was included in 1923. During World War I, all provinces enacted prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
, a decision repealed in all areas except Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
by 1929. In 1921 the penalties of the Opium and Drugs Act were expanded to provide for a seven year prison sentence for crimes committed under the Act. The amendment also made it an offence to be in a building that contained narcotics, notably shifting the burden of proof to the defendant for this crime. Whipping and deportation became penalties for violations of the 1911 Act in 1922.
Canada's 1920s drug policy was strikingly different to that of the present day. Drug users were considered more as criminals than as those with an illness, and the enforcement of drug laws was given precedence over the treatment of offenders. Additionally, almost three-quarters of those convicted by the 1911 drug laws were Chinese in 1922. This led many white Canadians to believe that the drug laws had no effect on them; they thought they only applied to those of Asiatic descent.
In 1929 the Opium and Narcotic Drug Act was enacted, establishing harsher penalties for drug users. This was to become the main drug regulation in Canada until the late 1960s. In 1954, the penalty for drug trafficking was doubled from seven to fourteen years. During that decade, the media published highly sensationalized
Sensationalism
Sensationalism is a type of editorial bias in mass media in which events and topics in news stories and pieces are over-hyped to increase viewership or readership numbers...
reports of drug use amongst youths, even though the rate of drug use in Canada was actually declining. In 1961, the Narcotic Control Act
Narcotic Control Act
The Narcotic Control Act, passed in 1961, was one of Canada's national drug control statutes prior to its repeal by the 1996 Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. It implemented the provisions of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.-References:...
made the possession of cannabis, amongst other drugs, an indictable offence
Indictable offence
In many common law jurisdictions , an indictable offence is an offence which can only be tried on an indictment after a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is a prima facie case to answer or by a grand jury...
and made the minimum sentence for drug trafficking fourteen years (as opposed to the previous maximum sentence).
Between 1969 and 1973 the Commission of Inquiry into the Non Medical Use of Drugs (or the Le Dain Commission) examined the use of narcotics in Canada and recommended that the drug laws were changed to become more lenient and gradually decriminalize illicit drugs. Although consensus in Parliament appeared to be gradually turning in favor of implementing the Commission's recommendations, the drug laws remained unchanged, although a bill to remove cannabis from the Narcotic Control Act and create a new Part V of the Food and Drugs Act
Food and Drugs Act
Food and Drugs Act is an Act of the Parliament of Canada regarding the production, import, export, transport across provinces and sale of food, drugs, contraceptive devices and cosmetics...
reducing sentences for all offences did pass the Senate but failed in the House of Commons.
In 1988, advocating the use of cannabis or cannabis-related products (including hemp
Hemp
Hemp is mostly used as a name for low tetrahydrocannabinol strains of the plant Cannabis sativa, of fiber and/or oilseed varieties. In modern times, hemp has been used for industrial purposes including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food and fuel with modest...
) became a crime punishable by $100,000 for a first offence and $300,000 for a second offence, meaning that simply publishing an opinion article with a favorable position on cannabis became illegal. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws Canada's office in Ontario was raided by police after being charged with breaking Section 462.2 of the Criminal Code for handing out brochures advocating the legalization of cannabis. In 1994, the Ontario Court of Justice
Ontario Court of Justice
The Ontario Court of Justice is a Provincial Court for the Canadian province of Ontario. This court oversees matters relating to family law and criminal law....
ruled that Section 462.2 stifled freedom of expression and overturned the ban on literature, taking effect only in Ontario. The same year, an Ontario farmer is allowed to grow ten acres of cannabis on his property to research its agricultural potential.
In 1996 the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act
Controlled Drugs and Substances Act
The Controlled Drugs and Substances Act is Canada's federal drug control statute. Passed in 1996 by the Chrétien government, it repeals the Narcotic Control Act and Parts III and IV of the Food and Drug Act and establishes eight Schedules of controlled substances and two Classes of precursors...
was passed. This law repealed the Narcotic Control Act
Narcotic Control Act
The Narcotic Control Act, passed in 1961, was one of Canada's national drug control statutes prior to its repeal by the 1996 Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. It implemented the provisions of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.-References:...
and Parts III and IV of the Food and Drug Act (parts dealing with the advertisement of controlled substances). This Act classified drugs into eight schedules, I to VIII. While the punishments for trafficking illicit drugs in Schedules I and II increased to a maximum of life imprisonment, the penalties for the possession of drugs in Schedule VIII (up to 30g of cannabis and 1g of hashish
Hashish
Hashish is a cannabis preparation composed of compressed stalked resin glands, called trichomes, collected from the unfertilized buds of the cannabis plant. It contains the same active ingredients but in higher concentrations than unsifted buds or leaves...
) decreased to a maximum six months imprisonment and/or a maximum fine of $1000.
Since the enactment of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, various courts have struck down parts of the law and amendments have been passed by Parliament. In 2001, Canada became the first country in the world to legalize the use of cannabis for the terminally ill and three years later the Minister of Justice
Minister of Justice (Canada)
The Minister of Justice is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for the Department of Justice and is also Attorney General of Canada .This cabinet position is usually reserved for someone with formal legal training...
Irwin Cotler
Irwin Cotler
Irwin Cotler, PC, OC, MP was Canada's Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada from 2003 until the Liberal government of Paul Martin lost power following the 2006 federal election. He was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons for the constituency of Mount Royal in a by-election...
announced that legislation is being proposed in the House of Commons to allow for lesser penalties for the possession of cannabis, while toughening penalties for large drug operations.
Effects
While street prices of the drug in Canada are higher than they are in South AmericaSouth America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n and East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
n countries, in the four year period 1997-2001 the street price of cocaine actually fell by almost thirteen US dollar
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
s a gram, from $94.3/gram to $81.6/gram. However, since 1995, the Canadian crime rate has been decreasing, from 131 persons per 100,000 incarcerated in 1995 to 107 persons per 100,000 in 2004.
Additionally, Canada is a producer and exporter of both cannabis and ecstasy, a trend that harsher penalties for those caught has failed to stop.
Recently, the idea of drug court
Drug court
Drug Courts are judicially supervised court dockets that handle the cases of nonviolent substance abusing offenders under the adult, juvenile, family and tribal justice systems...
s has gained popularity in Canada, numbering in the hundreds. These drug courts attempt to divert those that violate controlled drugs regulations from prisons into treatment programs. The Canadian model is based on the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
drug court system, which aimed to reduce prison overcrowding after it was found that up to three-quarters of the prison population growth could be attributed to drug offenders. One example of a Canadian drug court is found in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, where one has been operating since 1998. However, the success of this court is dubious; of the 284 drug offenders referred to the Toronto drug court, over two-thirds were expelled from the program.