Improving community health and safety in Canada through evidence-based policies on illegal drugs

Illegal drug use remains a serious threat to community health in Canada, yet there has been a remarkable discordance between scientific evidence and policy in this area, with most resources going to drug use prevention and drug law enforcement activities that have proven ineffective. Conversely, evidence-based drug treatment programs have been chronically underfunded, despite their cost-effectiveness. Similarly, various harm reduction strategies, such as needle exchange, supervised injecting programs and opioid substitution therapy, have also proven effective at reducing drug-related harm but receive limited government support. Accordingly, Canadian society would greatly benefit from reorienting its drug policies on addiction, with consideration of addiction as a health issue, rather than primarily a criminal justice issue. In this context, and in light of the simple reality that drug prohibition has not effectively reduced the availability of most illegal drugs and has instead contributed to a vast criminal enterprise and related violence, among other harms, alternatives should be prioritized for evaluation.