Perspectives on Canadian Drug Policy

PERSPECTIVES ON CANADIAN DRUG POLICY Volume 2 The John Howard Society of Canada All external links within this document were valid at the time of publication. Acknowledgements This project is funded by a generous grant from the Voluntary Sector Initiative through the Solicitor General of Canada. The John Howard Society of Canada would like to thank the Voluntary Sector Initiative and the Solicitor General of Canada for their financial support for this important capacity building project. The John Howard Society would also like to thank Christine Leonard from the John Howard Society of Alberta, Paula Osmok from the John Howard Society of Ontario and Terry Carlson from the John Howard Society of Newfoundland for their contributions to the success of this project Published by The John Howard Society of Canada 809 Blackburn Mews, Kingston, Ontario, K7P 2N6, Tel: (613) 384-6272, Fax: (613) 384-1847 Email: [email protected] Executive Director: Graham Stewart, Email: [email protected] © Copyright 2004. All rights reserved, Reproduction of any articles is permitted if source is cited ISBN#: 0 9689335-3-X 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Introduction 5 Gerald Thomas A Moral Analysis of Canadian Drug Policy 9 Jeff Packer Opening the Gates on the National Drug Strategy for the Correctional Service of Canada: 25 Implications of the Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs Report on Cannabis Lisa Finateri Attitudes and Perceptions of Harm Reduction Initiatives Among Social Policy Elites in St. 39 John, New Brunswick Susan O’Neill Drug Treatment Courts in Canada: Who Benefits? 59 Cynthia Kirkby Challenges in the Management of Mentally Disturbed Offenders on Psychotropic Medication 79 Cathy Ann Kelly Prison Syringe Exchange Programs: Can They Be Implemented in Canada? 93 Rick Lines and Ralf Jürgens Taking the Principles of Effective Corrections Seriously in CSC’s Approach to the 127 Rehabilitation of Drug Abusing Prisoners Gerald Thomas About the Authors 158 2 PERSPECTIVES ON CANADIAN DRUG POLICY, VO LUME TWO: INTRODUCTION Over the last several years, there has been significant activity in the area of illicit drug policy in Canada. Highlights include the tabling of official reports from the Auditor General of Canada (December 2001), the Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs (September 2002) and the House Special Committee on the Non-Medical Use of Drugs (December 2002), the temporary suspension of cannabis prohibition laws in Ontario and elsewhere (May – October 2003), the introduction of the Cannabis Reform Bill (C-38) in Parliament (May 2003), the renewal of Canada’s National Drug Strategy (May 2003), and the opening of North America’s first supervised injection facility in Vancouver, B.C. (September 2003). While not all of these reports and initiatives have led to actual changes to Canada’s drug policies, taken together they demonstrate that signif icant movement is indeed occurring in this important and highly politicized issue area. In the midst of these significant policy developments, the John Howard Society of Canada implemented the Policy Analysis Enhancement Project (PAEP). Funding for the project originated from the Voluntary Sector Initiative of the Privy Council with the intent of assisting individuals working in organizations within the voluntary sector to develop expertise in public policy analysis. The PAEP is a two-year project that takes select members of voluntary sector organizations and guides them through the creation of policy-relevant research related to Canadian drug policy. This volume presents the research undertaken by the second-year participants of project. The first article, by Jeff Packer from the John Howard Society of Durham Region, presents a moral analysis of Canadian drug policy. The purpose of his article is to examine the underlying moral attitudes that are central to the debates around drug policy in Canada in order to better understand both the obstacles and avenues to change. Mr. Packer begins with a brief discussion on morality and the stages of moral development and then moves to examine the social, political, and economic factors that influence our moral perspectives on illicit drugs. The third section provides a moral analysis of three major perspectives on drug policy: prohibition, harm reduction and drug liberalization. Finally, the author discusses factors that appear to be limiting movement in drug policy and suggests options for refocusing our moral compass to direct us to a much more effective Canadian drug policy. In an article entitled “Opening the Gates on the National Drug Strategy for the Correctional Services of Canada,” Lisa Finateri of the John Howard Society of Kingston, critically analyses CSC’s drug policy and discusses the implications for CSC if cannabis is legalized or decriminalized in Canadian society. Two points of analysis are considered: (1) the theoretical realm, and (2) the human, penal and social costs. The theoretical section of the article contrasts the punitive and harm reductionist ideologies in relation to drugs and drug use. The social, penal and human costs are discussed in terms of both the use of cannabis and the illegality of the substance. In conclusion, the perspectives considered in Ms. Finateri’s article are used as a point of departure to advocate for a more comprehensive harm reduction approach to cannabis and other illicit substances, both in our federal penitentiaries and in Canadian society. The third article, by Susan O’Neill of the John Howard Society of New Brunswick, Saint John Branch, seeks to assess the attitudes and perceptions of social policy elites in Saint John, New Brunswick toward various harm reduction initiatives. Specifically, her research works to document the existence of attitudes and perceptions held by relevant social policy elites that may work against the further development and implementation of harm reduction programs in the Saint John community. The first part of the article presents background on the three main philosophical perspectives on illicit drugs: prohibition, harm reduction and legalization. The harm reduction approach is then discussed at some length providing the 5 reader with an understanding of both the concept more generally, and of various programs and initiatives that fall under its rubric. The next section reports on the results of a survey of the attitudes and perceptions of local social policy elites in Saint John, New Brunswick related to harm reduction. In conclusion, Ms. O’Neill suggests that social policy elites in Saint John hold subtle but pervasive attitudes about illicit drugs that may work against the development, implementation, and sustainability of innovative harm reduction initiatives at the local level. She suggests that efforts to address these biases may be necessary to ensure effective reform of drug policy in the Saint John area. In an article entitled: “Drug Treatment Courts in Canada: Who Benefits?” Cynthia Kirby from the John Howard Society of New Brunswick presents a critical analysis of the drug treatment court (DTC) approach to dealing with drug users in Canada. The overall purpose of her article is to explore the question: who bene fits from drug treatment courts? It begins with a brief overview of DTC’s and the structure they have taken in Canada to date. The article then critically examines the claim that DTC’s are beneficial to both DTC clients and society finding that the benefits to both may be overstated by supporters of DTC’s. The paper then examines whether there is alternative explanation for the increasing popularity of DTC’s in Canada. Finally, the paper discusses whether there is a better, less intrusive option for achieving the stated goals of drug treatment courts. The fifth article, by Cathy Ann Kelly from the St. Leonard’s Society of Canada, is entitled: “Challenges in the Management of Mentally Disturbed Offenders on Psychotropic Medication.” Ms. Kelly’s research presents some background on the issue of mentally disordered offenders and then reviews the experiences of three individuals with mental illnesses who have come into contact with the Canadian federal correctional system. She then uses her cases to illum inate some of the significant challenges facing our correctional and mental health systems as they manage mentally disordered offenders on psychotropic medication. The next article by Rick Lines and Ralf Jürgens of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network is entitled: “Prison Syringe Exchange Programs: Can They Be Implemented in Canada?” The authors review the international evidence on HIV, hepatitis C and injection drug use in prisons, existing Canadian and international health guidelines and human rights covenants related to the treatment of prisoners, legislation relating to prison health services and HIV prevention and reviews the experiences of prison syringe exchange programs that have been implemented in several countries around the world. Based upon this context and evidence, the authors provides evidence-based responses to a number of key questions relating to prison needle exchange programs, and encourages the federal and provincial governments to act immediately to implement needle exchange programs within Canadian prisons. The last article, by Gerald Thomas from the John Howard Society of Canada, is entitled: “Taking the Principles of Effective Corrections Seriously in CSC’s Approach to the Rehabilitation of Drug Abusing Prisoners.” Dr. Thomas’ article assesses the relative progress made by the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) in

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