Canada's current drug policy, the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (S.C. 1996, c.19), makes possession of almost all controlled substances punishable by law. Amendments have been made due to the Cannabis Act (S.C. 2018, c.16), but most controlled substances remain criminalized.
The Act gives police free reign to lay down the hammer on substance users with the full extent of the law. This policy fails to acknowledge one of the single most important facts about drug and substance abuse: it is a public health problem, not a criminal problem.
This gap in policy has far reaching consequences that negatively impact many aspects of Canadian society, including substance users, law enforcement, the prison system, and tax payers:
Criminalizing the possession and use of specific drugs does not address the underlying root of addictions. Canada's current approach to drug policy has significant economic, medical, and social determinants.
There is a better way.
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