Own your ow legal marijuana business | Your guide to making money in the multi-billion dollar marijuana industry |
Major Studies of Drugs and Drug Policy | ||||
Canadian Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs | ||||
Volume 2 - Policies and Practices In Canada |
|
Chapter 11 - A National Drug Strategy?Canada’s
Drug Strategy – A Success?
This section does not claim to
provide an in-depth analysis of CDS since its implementation and development in
1987. Certain key objectives, however, will be reviewed in order to determine
whether or not the CDS can be deemed a success. It is important to note that,
despite the considerable amounts of money spent at the federal level to control
psychoactive substances, many would argue that Canada does not even have a
funded national drug strategy. In
1997 the government implemented “Program Review”, and severe financial cuts
were applied to all departments, including Health Canada. The drug strategy did
not escape these cuts and it sunset in 1997. In fact, there has been very
little new money from the federal government for the field of addictions since.
Canada
currently has no national strategy. We therefore simply do not have research
data to guide us. In fact, no one knows the extent of drug consumption or
prevalence in Canada because no national inquiry has been done since 1994. We
therefore have to come up with hypotheses and resort to other tools to get a
picture of the current situation in Canada. [1][37] As mentioned, research, knowledge
development and knowledge dissemination are severely lacking in Canada, despite
the fact that these are intended to be key components of the CDS. A more
complete analysis of these deficiencies in knowledge development and
dissemination is set out in Chapter 6. To summarize, Canada has not given
itself the means to conduct proper research and to acquire knowledge in this
field. For example, only two general national drug surveys have been conducted
- in 1989 and 1994. Much of the problem with respect to research and knowledge
development can be attributed to the almost non-existent funding allocated to
the CCSA. Considering the importance of the CCSA’s role in knowledge
development and the costs of substance abuse in Canada, it is clear that its
funding has been totally inadequate over the years. The recent increase to its
core funding may temporarily stop the bleeding but will not allow Canada to
acquire the tools necessary to conduct vital and necessary research in this
area. The CDS has, since its
implementation, stated that it reflects a balance between reducing the supply
of drugs and reducing the demand for drugs. While such policy objectives are
easy to pronounce, they have not been reflected in reality. The Auditor General
has recently indicated that, of the approximately $500 million spent annually
by 11 departments or agencies at the federal level to address illicit drug use
in Canada, roughly 95% is spent on supply reduction. Notwithstanding the
division of constitutional powers in Canada, one would be hard pressed to argue
that this allocation of funds represents a balanced approach. Another of the key objectives of the
CDS is to ensure coordination and collaboration across all federal departments
and with the provinces and municipalities. The Auditor General has recently
criticized the leadership provided at the federal level and recommended a drug
strategy with sound co-ordination and with clear objectives and results. Canada
requires stronger leadership and more consistent co-ordination to set a strategy,
common objectives, and collective performance expectations. It must be able to
respond quickly to emerging concerns about illicit drug use or the illicit drug
trade. The present structure for leadership and for co-ordination of federal
efforts needs to be reviewed and improved. The mechanisms for co-ordination
with the provinces and municipalities also need review since they cross three
levels of government. [2][38] One of the obvious weaknesses of the
CDS is the failure to provide comprehensive evaluations of its objectives. For
example, we are unaware of any evaluations of the prevention and treatment
programs that have been funded by the federal government. This lack of
evaluation is an overall concern. Although
the federal government provides leadership and co-ordination for dealing with
the illicit drug problem, it has not produced any comprehensive reports that
demonstrate how well Canada is managing the problem. It would be logical for
Health Canada, as the lead department, to report government-wide results of
Canada's efforts to reduce the demand for and the supply of illicit drugs. [3][39] In summary, it would be difficult to
declare the CDS a success when we do not even have the tools needed to
determine whether or not the objectives of the strategy have been satisfied.
The current strategy has, at the very least, many fundamental weaknesses. As
several critics have argued one must question whether we in fact even have a
comprehensive drug strategy in Canada. |