Time to provoke some thought, about the never ending war on drugs.
Canada’s simple solution began in 1908 with the opium act. Later the same year the Proprietary And Patent Medicine Act was passed making some drugs like cocaine illegal and other drugs restricted. It also required drug companies to list ingredients. The next step upped the punishments for violating the act. That saw the introduction of imprisonment and a criminal component. This came to pass in 1911. As with all things government it saw an expanded list of drugs made illegal.
The truth is alcohol was prohibited before Marijuana. Prohibition was enacted at the end of WWI. The drought in Canada was brief however in all but PEI the law was repealed in 1921. Booze was rescued Marijuana became illegal in 1923.
in researching our disguised past, racism did play a significant role. As opium was consumed in opium dens in the Chinese Community the law made it illegal to even be in a building where opium was found by law enforcement, the punishment?
Up to seven years in prison and for those of Chinese origin it could mean deportation as well. By 1954 the drug laws were revised to allow for fourteen years in prison from seven.
So what were the consequences of the war on drugs in Canada?
The laws were punitive designed to stomp out drug use and like prohibition the effort has failed. First let me say I am not for just wiping the laws off the books. However I am becoming more convinced we should decriminalize simple possession. We have legalized pot and the predictions of doom and gloom and endless winter have not materialized.
First who saw the benefits of making the laws punitive? Who saw the benefit from prohibition? Who paid the price for the illegal trade?
First drug companies made billions as they were in league with the governments regulating the supply.
The courts and police departments saw increased budgets to stomp out the crime. Bootleggers and drug traffickers made millions per month. The harsher the punishment the more value the product had.
So who paid the heaviest price? The addicts as they made their social spiral downward. To get money for their habit they turned to petty crime and or prostitution which only served to increase participation in the black market and inner crime circles. We saw dramatic increases not only in terms of addiction, it put pressure on the entire social safety net which created a vicious circle we still live with. Our government spends more than two billion a year on law enforcement for drug offenses and about a billion on treatment programs.
Today keeping possession a criminal offense, limits treatment out of fear and stigmatization. Today’s drugs are more dangerous and thousands die from overdoses annually. Before we dig battle trenches and dig in on a position let me point out a couple of things. If you smoked how hard was it to quit? What with the millions who die from smoking or alcohol – they are victims to government hypocrisy. I say that because the reason alcohol, tobacco and pot are legal is because the governments are addicted to sin tax revenue. Socially the public supports these products remaining legal. As for pot, the big producers, former politicians and the well connected got the licenses to produce it. The biggest loser in the war against drugs really is the Canadian Taxpayer. In a century of battle the war is not over, there is no end in sight and no victory on the horizon.
No, decriminalizing illicit drugs would not be a victory but rather a truce. The laws would prioritize treatment rather than prison or death. After a stalemate of nearly a hundred years it is time society had a discussion about other options.
Fred Steele
Fred Steele says
No I am not running for any elective office I did that over two decades ago and that was enough I was in elective office in the tree fruit industry at the local Provincial and National level a decade of that was enough. Now IJust share my perspective on thing to create some civil discussion
Robin Hopkins says
Are you thinking of running politically Fred, as you make a lot of sense. Drug use and its effects are a health issue, not criminal acts and should be seen as a way of handling the stressors of life. Unfortunately, this is often a vicious circle downward. As said, follow the money trail, but don’t forget that present laws also placate the small “c” conservative voters, and everything has a political perspective.
Joyce Bunge says
Thank you for your words and knowledge. Thank you Jill for your sharing and strength and compassion- always good to hear you. I learned so much about this topic of how this problem was created by reading Johann Hari’s book ‘Chasing the Scream’, and I too think that we need to talk more openly and with no stigma on this subject. We should advocate more for the availability and training and carying of Naloxone, and demanding for the presence of enough well located Supervised Consumption Sites, so people who use street or prescription drugs have a chance of staying alive until and if they decide for themselves that they are ready and able to live without their drug of choice- including the popular and socially acceptable drug – alcohol.
Ed Machial says
Making drugs legal wont fix anything! Until the head is cut off the snake, you will never solve any of the issues.
Sadly the snakes often masquerade as “prominent and upstanding” members of communities.
Jill McCullum says
Thank you Fred, thank you for a well reasoned pull back the curtain examination of a drug war gone wrong. No one wins is an understatement. 15,000 Canadian families who have lost loved ones are well aware of the stigma and punitive approach to a medical condition. Our young, (mostly men), are being decimated… no societal group is immune… very soon every Canadian will personally be impacted by the concurrent pandemic tragedy unfolding in Canada… drug overdose. Appropriate health responses, qualified professionals, early intervention and facilities with scientific evidenced based treatments are woefully lacking. Take all that money used to incarcerate/police and inject it into resources. The response is typically… ‘the person had a choice’… no one ever recovers from death, no one deserves to die because society is still operating with draconian laws. I’m a grieving mother of a son who died from a drug overdose… Nick, forever 27… fought in Afghanistan, returned with PTSD and a drug dependency, buried in Oliver’s Veterans Circle of Honour. I will lobby challenge and fight drug stigma until my dying breath. Thank you Fred.
Mary Lou Ellan says
I know someone who was a provincial court judge and along with her fellow judges thought that drugs should be made legal. It would free up the court system from all the petty crimes and the addicts could get the help they need!
Dave Mattes says
Good article Fred. I have always advocated for decriminalizing/legalizing all illicit drugs. I would go further and recognize drug addiction as a health issue and treat it as such. The costs to society for police enforcement, property loss through crime to support addiction, incarceration of drug users, and the lives lost are far greater than providing a safe, free drug supply. The money saved would provide the support needed to help those who are addicted break their addiction. There would likely be money left over to help pay for other drugs that are necessary and expensive such as insulin, or money to deal with more of the underlying social issues which lead to addiction.