Summary: Substance Abuse In Canada

Decriminalization of drugs is not the same thing as legalization, not endorsing the use of drugs but instead attempting a different approach at the stop of drug use. Drug dealers and manufacturers are still incarcerated, while drug addicts are given treatment instead of punishment. Should Canada decriminalize drugs and instead treat drug addiction as a health issue? Two percent of the population currently report using hard drugs (cocaine, heroin, speed, etc.) within the past year. Taking into consideration that this number is slowly climbing and that most drug users may not admit to using while the harsh punishments still exist, it is clear that this nation has a drug problem that has no foreseeable end. Canada would benefit from the decriminalization

Attention Getter: Imagine 60,000 people in one city, all dealing with the same problem, addiction. According to an article written by Carter M. Yang for ABC news on March 14th of this year, there are 60, 000 people in Baltimore alone that are addicted to illicit drugs. These numbers are disheartening and unfortunate. I can relate to every one of these people struggling with substance abuse, because I am an addict. A program called Narcotics Anonymous has

The cost of substance abuse in Canada is astronomical. According to the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA), in 2002 alcohol accounted for about $14.6 billion and illegal drugs for about $8.2 billion in social cost (Single, Robertson, Rehm, & Xie, 2002). This cost was measured in terms of the burden on health care and law enforcement, and productivity in the workplace or home. Arguably, the greatest cost may be immeasurable: human suffering and tragic loss of lives. This suffering is not limited to only of those wrestling with these problems, but extends those around them: family, friends, co-workers and society as a whole.

Western countries struggle with the control of drug abuse. America, for example, has been failing with eliminating or reducing the chronic issues of drug abuse and crimes associated with drugs. America’s goal around these problems consistently has been complete

In Canada, the amount of illegal drugs on the street increased by 89% in the last 10 years and expenditure from illegal drug sales are over $7 billion dollars annually. It is no doubt that Canada is in the midst of a war on drugs, but is Canada’s current approach working? In 2011, the mandatory minimum sentencing for drug possession doubled, and didn’t include legislation for those special circumstances, such a mental illness.

There are many ways in which people who are addicted to intravenous drugs are perceived by our society. People sometimes believe the addicted person is to blame for their circumstance and substance dependence and some feel serious drug addicts are a “lost cause” due to a lack of values or flawed character. “Persons who struggle with addictions often are depicted as criminals or prostitutes, weak, lazy and morally corrupt” (Bartlett, R., Brown, L., Shattell, M., Wright, T., Lewallen, L. (2013). These stereotypes paint people with addiction negatively; a percentage of people who live with serious addiction are capable of recovery with the right attitude, support and healthcare. Street level healthcare services such as; safe injection sites, provide accessable resources at street level for people to make the choice to live healthier lifestyles. Govement funding and support is needed to make these projects possible to improve the health of Canadians. Safe injection sites are proven to be positive contributions to communities, save lives, reduce harm and open doors towards recovery for people from the grip of addiction.

There is a debate in the American government system on how to handle the use of drug and alcohol. In the 1960s drugs were uprising along with youth rebellion and in 1971 Nixon declared a “War on Drugs” (Citation a brief). This name is not to be confused with the band War on Drugs, but the term is still popularly used to describe the policies that Government officials are making regarding drugs and alcohol. This debate got reheated when Colorado legalized weed for medical and recreational use, followed by several other states. There has slowly been a shift in mindset from, “alcoholics are drug addicts are all criminals and we (the law) should throw them in jail” to “addiction is a disease.” Even the way that addicts/alcoholics are treated has changed to treatment centers with specialist versus throwing them in the hospital to detox and hoping for a change. Policies that are shifting the penalty from incarceration to treatment reflect these changes and help the individual suffering from the disease to get back on their feet. The war on drugs rings on, but changes are being made.

The issue of drug policy is one that has plagued our society for decades now, and will continue to linger until we finally become proactive make some bold decisions. With over twenty thousand deaths each year, in Canada alone, due to illicit substances , this is a problem that must be addressed immediately. Many people know where to turn when they have alcohol addiction issues, most turn to Alcoholics Anonymous for example. Smokers are also offered many incentives and advertisements that deter smoking and help them in their struggle to quit. But, there has been no major campaign or well known foundation to seek help in if you are having problems with other drugs such as heroin, cocaine, LSD, or marijuana. Our problem in Canada is that these drugs are seen as merely a judicial and criminal issue, rather than a public issue which affects each and every one of us in society. In this essay, I will prove that the decriminalization, by the government of all drugs and implementing education on drugs instead will lead to a decline in drug related deaths and social issues.

The criminalization of drugs has filled the jails across Canada with people who have addiction problems, or substance abuse disorder, rather than criminality. The drug problem in our society has not been deterred, but in fact it has grown. This criminality has made it so that addicts are forced to break the law to obtain their drugs, as well as have to break the law to finance their addiction, rather than being offered the help and support that a person with substance abuse disorder requires to get better. The only true way to advance the war on drugs is to completely alter the current approach, as prohibition does not work any better now than it did in the early 1900’s with alcohol. The trend in drugs being cut with more dangerous drugs

The Globe and Mail’s article, “Why Canada needs a new alcohol strategy,” discusses the imposing threat alcohol has on Canadians. Marijuana and its harmful effect continue to be the topic of discussion amongst Canadians when in fact alcohol attracts the largest number of youth. Alcohol is a harmful substance that poses a greater threat to young Canadians than the likes of marijuana, prescription drugs and cigarettes. According to a 2012-13 Health Canada survey, 41 percent of grade 7 to grade 12 students said they drank alcohol at least once in the previous year, compared with 19 per cent who had tried marijuana and 13 per cent who had smoked a cigarette. Of the students who drank, 30 per cent had binged. Binge drinking is defined as five or more drinks at a single sitting. There are many risks alcohol poses, but the major ones include, drunk driving, increased risk of alcoholism, learning and memory impairment, sexual assault/abuse and suicide. Adults are drinking harmful amounts of alcohol, putting them at high risks of health. According to stats Canada, nearly 20 per cent of Canadians are heavy drinkers. One in four Canadians exceeds national safety drinking guidelines. Many Canadians don’t realize we drink unsafe amounts of alcohol and its increasing chances of harm that comes with it. Majority of Canada’s citizens don’t realize there is a drinking guideline. Most cases regarding alcohol are turned a blind eye and only receive attention in the media when there is a

Canada is one of the best country to live in terms of its social, political, economical and cultural aspects. The good living condition and the social harmony are the most known description of today's Canada. The invention of this livable country faced lots of contradictions and problems. The great development of Canada rely upon its geographical, and environmental features. Besides from these advantages the economical, and political objectives were correct. From the whole course content, i have noticed that the unification is the common process in invention of today's Canada. The social, political, economical and cultural aspects all have some relation with unification process. In other words, the key for this country's development is unification.

The city of Vancouver has been known to have a drug issue, more specifically in the downtown eastside area, which holds one of the most unwealtiest and oldest neighbourhoods in Canada. While British Columbia has an estimate of 20,000 injection drug users who are pronounced to be in poverty, have a mental illness, and be homeless (Jozaghi, & Andresen, 2013: 1). In efforts to reduce this drug problem, the city developed a plan using a four-pillar approach that focuses on enforcement, harm reduction, treatment, and prevention (Schaefer & Haaland, 2014: 242). Schaefer & Haaland (2014: 242) explain each portion of this plan: the enforcement component consists of a trail court which varies out the options for drug treatment, the police aiming for

In and around most large cities in America, the rising substance abuse epidemic has brought about a renewed interested in determining the root cause of substance abuse, the effects of substance abuse on individuals and societies, and the substance abuse treatment modalities that achieve the best outcomes. In reviewing the current research on substance abuse there seems to be no one clear cause of substance abuse disorders, although there is strong evidence that a number of life circumstances may predispose an individual to a substance abuse disorder, as well as a number of protective factors that may reduce an individual’s risk of developing a substance abuse disorder. One important risk factor that is commonly associated with substance

The severity of this dependence varies between individuals. Roughly 4% of the Canadian population, over the age of 15, are suffering from an alcohol dependency or are alcoholics. The highest percentage of these drinking problems are among people between the ages of 20 and 24. Roughly one fifth of Canada’s alcoholics have admitted that financial and job-related problems have been caused by their drinking (“Alcohol in Canada,” 2016).

Substance abuse and addiction have become a social problem that afflicts millions of individuals and disrupts the lives of their families and friends. Just one example reveals the extent of the problem: in the United States each year, more women and men die of smoking related lung cancer than of colon, breast and prostate cancers combined (Kola & Kruszynski, 2010). In addition to the personal impact of so much illness and early death, there are dire social costs: huge expenses for medical and social services; millions of hours lost in the workplace; elevated rates of crime associated with illicit drugs; and scores of children who are damaged by their parents’ substance abuse behavior (Lee, 2010). This paper will look at