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When the Commission of Inquiry into
the Non-medical Use of Drugs conducted its work in the early 1970s, like most commissions
of inquiry, it had a large staff and budgets enabling it to carry out a vast
research program. That was all the more necessary since, at the time, no large
pool of knowledge on illegal drugs existed. Virtually nothing was known about
the active ingredients of cannabis or even about the pharmacological properties
of more traditional drugs, such as heroin and cocaine, and little was known
about user trajectories; criminological studies on the relationship between
drugs and crime were virtually non-existent, and public policy impact studies
were in their earliest stages.
To say the situation has completely
changed would be an understatement. In all scientific disciplines, from
molecular biology to anthropology, countless studies have been conducted over
the past 25 years on illegal drugs in general, and cannabis in particular.
They come from the United States, of course, but also from Australia, England,
France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Finland and Denmark to name only a
few. They have been conducted by academics interested in these questions on a
purely individual basis, by pharmacological laboratories and by research groups
within organizations operating in the drug addiction field and in the context
of scientific commissions appointed by the governments of various countries.
The Committee asked the
Parliamentary Research Branch to prepare a survey of illegal drug research
under way or completed in the past five years at the federal level and in the
provinces and territories.[1]
[2] That survey, which lays no claim to being
exhaustive, but offers an overview of the extent and scope of recent research,
clearly shows that, despite minuscule budgets compared to those allocated in
the United States, research on illegal drugs is doing relatively well in
Canada. We can only imagine that it would be a formidable task to survey the
studies under way in the United States on the question of illegal drugs.
Ascertaining
the state of knowledge on the subject thus first meant finding the means to
prepare a rigorous synthesis. To that end, the Committee adopted a research
program focusing on all aspects. However, as it lacked the financial resources
to produce an extensive series of studies, and also wishing to ensure that the
information was broadly transmitted to the public, the Committee designed a
program of public hearings of expert witnesses who would likely be able to
assist in more clearly determining the state of current knowledge on the
subject.
The Committee approved a research
program divided into five major axes of knowledge, sub-dividing each one into
specific issues:
The socio-historical,
geopolitical, anthropological, criminological and economic issues of the use
and regulation of cannabis. This axis of work will establish the context for a better
understanding of modern practices in the production and use of cannabis. The
main questions are:
··
What are the key historical patterns in the
production, use, consumption and circulation of cannabis? ··
Is there a relationship between cannabis use and
religious or cultural practices? ··
What are the relationships between the
production, use, consumption, and circulation of cannabis and the
socio-demographic characteristics of populations? More specifically, what do we
know about cannabis users? ··
What are the key domestic and international drug
routes and how are they related to national and international political and
policy issues? ··
What are the relationships between various drugs
and how have current distinctions between licit and illicit drugs been created?
··
What are the relationships between the
production, use, consumption, circulation and regulation of drugs and
criminality? ··
What are the key economic issues in the
production, use, consumption, circulation and regulation of cannabis?
The medical and pharmacological aspects of the
consumption, use and regulation of cannabis. The use of cannabis for medicinal purposes occupies
an important place in current debates on regulatory systems governing it. The
idea here is to produce state of the art reviews on knowledge related to the
physiological and psychological effects of various drugs. The key research
questions are:··
How has cannabis been used for medicinal
purposes? ··
What is the state of knowledge on the
therapeutic properties of cannabis? ··
What is the state of knowledge on the
physiological effects of cannabis, especially in respect of addictive capacity?
··
What is the state of knowledge on the psychological
effects of cannabis, especially in respect of dependence? ··
What is the current state of knowledge on the
effects of various forms of treatment for dependence and addiction problems,
their impacts and their costs?
The
legal aspects from a national perspective. Federal legislative mechanisms exist in Canada to
control the use, consumption, production and circulation of drugs, even though
treatment and other areas, for example, are under the jurisdiction of the
provinces and territories. Additionally, the courts have interpreted the
relevant acts and regulations, particularly regarding policing powers. Overall,
this section will examine the legislative and control arsenal, its rationality
and objectives, from the standpoints of criminology, law, history, sociology
and economics. The key questions guiding this third axis of the research
program are:··
What are the history of and logic to the
different regulatory and control modes of cannabis in Canada? ··
What are the history and logic behind
criminalization and penalization in Canada? ··
What is the state of case law in respect of the
legislative and regulatory arsenal relating to the production, use, consumption
and circulation of drugs in Canada? ··
What is the state of case law on police powers
and sentences in relation to drug issues? ··
What are the effects of criminalization and
penalization in matters of drugs on the justice system (and its various components),
the prison system and the criminal careers of delinquents? ··
What are the economic and social costs of the
various modes of regulation, control and criminalization in matters of drugs?
··
What are the relations among justice and public
health policies and government departments in matters of drugs?
The
legal and political issues in an international perspective. Canada is a party to various treaties and
conventions on the production, trafficking and possession of psychoactive
substances. It was important to assess how precise and binding these
instruments are on domestic legislation. Also, these treaties and conventions
are themselves part of a larger array of international instruments, especially
on human and political rights; it was essential to determine the
interrelationships between these instruments. Finally, drugs are an issue in
international relations, in particular in relations between Canada and the
United States. Although not legally binding, these factors may influence policy
reorientations and will thus be interesting to look at. The key questions are:··
What are the main treaties and conventions in
matters of drugs, their history and their provisions? ··
What constraints, if any, do these treaties and
conventions impose on Canada? ··
Beyond treaties and conventions, what other
aspects of international relations have implications for Canada in adopting a
regulatory mode in matters of drugs? ··
What are the regulatory approaches adopted by
other countries, what are their impacts, and to what extent are they pertinent
for Canada?
The
ethical issues and Canadians' moral and behavioural standards. Ethical issues and knowledge of the standards
adopted by Canadians are also relevant in determining policy and legislative
orientations. The key questions are:··
What are the ethical principles relevant to
examining issues related to the production, use, consumption, circulation and
control of drugs? ··
What are the pertinent ethical principles in
relation to the medicinal use of cannabis and the medical and psychological
treatment of drug addictions and dependence? ··
What are the current norms of behaviour of
Canadians in relation to cannabis production, consumption, use and circulation?
··
What are the norms of tolerance of Canadians?
··
To what extent do ethical principles and norms
of tolerance in the population accord?
As can be seen, the undertaking was
a vast one. In an attempt to answer these questions in the most effective and
most economical manner possible, the Committee agreed to perform two tasks
concurrently: conduct a research program and hear expert
witnesses–complementary activities.
Research program
Lacking both a research budget that
would have enabled us to commission studies and a full-time research staff, we
asked the Parliamentary Research Branch to produce syntheses and analyses of
the relevant literature.[2]
[3] The research is divided into three major categories:
Legal studies: analyses of case law and
international conventions and treaties;
Socio-criminological studies: analyses of the relationship
between drugs and crime, of developments in denunciations, charges and
sentences; cannabis use practices; economic aspects of drugs;
Comparative studies: syntheses of public
policies in certain countries.
We also received a synthesis of the
literature on the physiological and psychological effects of cannabis.[3]
[4] Lastly, we commissioned a qualitative study on
Canadians' opinions and attitudes by a public survey firm.[4][5]
In all, the
Committee received 23 reports and benefited from summaries of work
conducted in other countries, particularly through its attendance at
international conferences
[1]
[2]
Leduc, D., et al., (2001) Federal Research on Illegal Drugs
and Related Issues.
Ottawa: Library of Parliament; and Miller Chenier, N., & S. Norris (2002) Territorial Research on Illegal Drugs and Related Issues. Ottawa: Library of Parliament.
Reports prepared for the Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs. Available
at www.parl.gc.ca/illegal-drugs.asp.
[2]
[3]
A complete list of the studies produced by the Parliamentary Research
Branch is provided in Appendix 3. All the research reports are available
on line at the Committee's Web site: www.parl.gc.ca/illegal-drugs.asp. The
Committee wishes to express its appreciation of the work performed for it by
the Parliamentary Research Branch.
[3]
[4]
Wheelock, B. (2002) The Physiological and Psychological
Effects of Cannabis: A Survey of the Literature. Document prepared for the Senate Special
Committee on Illegal Drugs. (The Committee particularly wishes to thank
Senator Rossiter, who made the preparation of this paper possible.)
[4]
[5]
Léger Marketing (2002) An Exploratory Study Among Canadians
on the Use of Cannabis. Montréal: author. Report prepared for the Senate Special Committee on
Illegal Drugs. Available at www.parl.gc.ca/illegal-drugs.asp.
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