7.3 The “War on Drugs”

We will start this module with a short video from the Municipal Alcohol Project and the Nova Scotia Community College.^[1]

Videos like this suggest abstinence is best; however, abstinence does not work for everyone. Abstinence-based programs and policies are not evidence based, and yet are still being used to address substance use and substance use disorders. They are the remnants of the “war on drugs,” which began in the Reagan era (1981-1989) of the United States and were generally seen as failed policy.^[2] The term “war on drugs” began with Ronald Reagan, the President of the United States in 1984.  His wife Nancy began a popular, yet ineffective campaign, “Just Say No”.  This campaign was based on abstinence and spawned other abstinence-based programs like DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education).^[3]

Many people believe the war on drugs was an American phenomenon; however, Canada was a willing ally and created laws that targeted marginalized groups.^[4]  In the 1980’s, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney invested in Canada’s war on drugs based on the false belief that communities were being ravaged by drugs, though evidence on use suggested otherwise.^[5]  The war on drugs has been a world-wide phenomenon that resulted in the criminalization and incarceration of people who use substances; “historically, the principal response to illegal drug use has been enforcement and incarceration”.^[6]

The war on drugs was not successful, yet it continues to have impacts on Canada’s laws, correctional facilities, RCMP and Police, healthcare, and economy.  Data from Canada and elsewhere show “this approach fails to meaningfully reduce supply of – or demand for – drugs and results in many unintended negative consequences”^[7]; for example, “overdose is a leading cause of premature mortality in North America”.^[8]  Consequences of the war on drugs also include incarceration and the myriad of challenges associated with having a criminal record.  Yet Canada and other countries have continued to engage in a political war on drugs though according to Mallea,^[9] “it has not reduced the drug trade, eliminated production, or decreased the number of users”.^[10]  Gordon^[11] suggests the criminalization of substances and people who use substances has not occurred in a vacuum; it has been a “state policy that intersects profoundly with the racialized class relations of Canadian capitalist society”.^[12]

This racialized focus in the war on drugs has resulted in over-representation of incarceration for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) communities.  “Racialization strengthens systemic racism and reinforces structural violence”.^[13]  To understand how racialization has played a role in Canada’s war on drugs one must simply look to the correctional system.  For example, 80% of people who have been incarcerated have substance use disorders^[14] and 54% of offenders were under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs at the time of the offence for which they were currently serving a sentence (Pernanen et al. 2002)^[15]  If we look at the correctional system we can see in 2016, Indigenous Canadians accounted for 24.4% of the federal prison population, though they make up just 4.3% of the general population.^[16]  In 2010–2011, Black Canadians accounted for 10% of the federal prison population although Black Canadians only comprised 2.5% of the overall population.^[17]  We are incarcerating people for their substance use and this racialization of the war on drugs has resulted in blackness associated with criminality.^[18]

The war on drugs has been a catastrophic failure that has directly impacted BIPOC communities and indirectly impacted all Canadians; “war always destroys lives, produces a maximum of collateral damage, denies basic human and civil rights, and has little to do with justice”.^[19]  Many advocates who work in the field of substance use disorders believe it is time to end the war on drugs and focus efforts on the intersectionality of the systemic issues that perpetuate substance use disorders.^[20]

In deepening your understanding of the “war on drugs” please review the infographic below for the impact on Canadians.

Drug War in Canada infographic. Credit: Canadian Centre for Addictions. Long Description.

Image Credits

• Drug War in Canada infographic from: Canadian Centre for Addictions. (2021). Canada’s shocking war on drugs: An infographic. https://canadiancentreforaddictions.org/war-on-drugs/