The increase in prescription drug abuse is one of the main examples of why Canada’s war on illegal drugs is a failure.
Despite the millions of dollars spent arresting and prosecuting drug producers, traffickers and users, we are nowhere closer to stopping people from obtaining drugs.
The Canadian government should shift its focus to turning all drug problems into matters of health and addiction rehabilitation, rather than ones of crime and justice.
This approach has been successful in numerous cases.
InSite, a supervised injection program in Vancouver, has seen strong support from both health officials and the community. Last month, a study by the University of British Columbia and St. Paul Hospital showed drug users who used harm reduction programs like InSite were more likely to go to rehab programs.
Several years ago, Portugal decriminalized drug abuse and turned it into a public health issue while still prosecuting the trafficking of drugs. As a result, the country has seen reduced rates of use amongst teens.
This is a crucial step the government has to think about, especially in the wake of rising abuse of prescription drugs.
Prescription drug abusers are damaging to society because their drugs are prescribed legally by doctors, with the cost subsidized by the Canadian taxpayer. Therefore, the justice system really can’t prosecute the prescription drug abusers.
It makes no sense to pay taxes to combat illegal drugs while funding a health-care system that does little to prevent prescription drug abusers from taking advantage of the system.
The government must find better ways to identify drug-seeking behaviours — legal and illegal— and address them appropriately.