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Major Studies of Drugs and Drug Policy
Canadian Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs
Volume 2 - Policies and Practices In Canada

Chapter 18 - Observations on practices

Conclusions 

Conclusions of Chapter 18

Harmonization

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Co-ordination of approaches

 

 

 

 

Costs of cannabis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Under-funding of the CCSA

Ø      The lack of any real national platform for discussion and debate on illegal drugs prevents the development of clear objectives and measurement indicators.

Ø      The absence of a national platform makes exchange of information and best practices impossible.

Ø      Practices and approaches vary considerably between and within provinces and territories.

 

Ø      The conflicting approaches of the various players in the field are a source of confusion.

Ø      The resources and powers for enforcement  are greatly out of balance compared with those of the health and education fields and the civil society.

 

Ø      The costs of all illegal drugs had risen to close to  $1.4 billion in 1992.

Ø      Of the total costs of illegal drugs at that time, externalities (social costs) represented 67% and public policy costs 33%.

Ø      We believe both the social costs of illegal drugs and the public policy costs to be underestimated.

Ø      We estimate the cost of enforcing the drug laws to be closer to $1-1.5 billion per annum.

Ø      The principal public policy cost relative to cannabis is law enforcement and the justice system; we estimate this to represent a total of $300-$500 million per annum.

Ø      The costs of externalities attributable to cannabis are probably minimal (no deaths, few hospitalizations, and very little loss of productivity).

Ø      The costs of public policy on cannabis are disproportionately high given the drug’s social and health consequences.

 

Ø      The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse is seriously under-funded; its annual budget amounts to barely 0.1% of the social costs of illegal drugs alone (alcohol not included).  Its budget should be increased to at least 1%; that is, approximately $15 million per annum.

 

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