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Dope vs. the People

by David Kilgour, M.P. Edmonton Southeast
(published in Canadian Social Studies magazine, Winter 1995, Vol. 29, No. 2)

Drugs properly administered often have been a medical blessing. Over the past three decades, however, the use of illicit ones has reached to most parts of the globe. A broad spectrum of the world community has demonstrated intense concern over the problem: the insidious long-term effects of chronic drug use and its impact on the user, the family, the community, and on most societies. Drug abuse is no longer considered a "victimless" crime; it is one that imposes a staggering burden on the people and the nations of the world. No society on earth can afford to carry it.

Drug Trafficking

In a number of countries, the profits derived from the illicit production, distribution and consumption of illegal drugs have rendered sections of local economies dependant on the trade, thus creating militant constituencies for its continuance. In some cases, administrative and judicial structures are being undermined to the extent of endangering political stability, and even destabilizing governments. The sheer volume of "drug money" has affected the money and exchange markets. A United Nations survey revealed that the world-wide dollar value of illegal drugs is second only to the amount spent on the arms trade. In 1989, the total sales of illicit drugs amounted to $400 billion world-wide ($10 billion in Canada alone). In John Le Carré's latest novel, The Night Manager, which acknowledges advice from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, a character claims that America now spends more money on dope than food "... the cost of the entire Vietnam war every year...."

The economic situation in Latin America is expected to continue to encourage the growth of the cocaine trade continues as growing numbers of rural people turn to coca cultivation or other aspects of the trade. Direct smuggling of large quantities of cocaine from South America into Canada has increased, particularly as intensified American interdiction and enforcement measures denied traffickers customary routes into the U.S. The Golden Triangle area of southeast Asia remains the principal source of heroine destined for Canada, with a 79% share of the Canadian market in 1990. Southwest Asia (Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran) was a secondary source of supply (21%).

Nothing seemed unusual about the freighter THOR-1 when it docked last May in Montreal. Hidden in a shipment of tea, spices and clothing were 26 tonnes of hashish, with an estimated street value of $360-million. The Montreal seizure was the second largest in Canadian history. On our West coast, Revenue Canada says it made 573 seizures of all types of illegal drugs between January and May, 1994 with an estimated street value of $263 million. Our media are full of reports of drug seizures as Canada seems to have become the entry point of choice for all of North America. Importing drugs through legal shipping channels has become popular with smugglers seeking to avoid the headaches of using motherships to offload drugs to smaller vessels. It is important to add that although the amount of drug seizures are increasing, they are probably only in proportion to increases in the amount of drugs and drug money entering Canada.

According to the RCMP's National Drug Intelligence Estimate for 1994, courier services and our parcel post are increasingly used to import drugs to Canada. There has also been an increase in the involvement of some Canadian airport personnel, particularly baggage handlers and cleaners, in drug trafficking. The same report says that intelligence gathered during the last year points to some key trends in laundering operations carried out in Canada. "These include: the multiplication of international transactions, the capacity to adapt to a changing legal environment, and the continued expansion of laundering operations to all sectors of the Canadian economy." Trend indicators through 1996 suggest that "South American drug trafficking organizations will continue to coordinate and integrate money laundering operations in Canada, Mexico and the United States."

Current Drug Realities

It is impossible to measure accurately the full extent of alcohol and drug abuse in Canada. Although we live in a world of statistics, none is completely accurate and all are subject to interpretation. Available drug and alcohol statistics do give a sense of the scope of the problem and highlight emerging trends. What the statistics fail to show is the personal and social costs of drug abuse. The loss of human potential, the destruction of physical and mental health, the breakdown of marriages and families, the disruption of communities and social order - all directly or indirectly affect us. Drug abuse is a problem of many dimensions with unacceptable human and economic costs. It is estimated that in 1989 alone our illicit drug industry cost Canadians $15 to $18 billion through escalated health care costs, policing expenditure, lost productivity, and higher insurance and real estate costs. That was $600 per man, woman, and child. Only 11% of Canadians reported no alcohol, tobacco or other drug use in 1990.

Youth as Victims

Perhaps the worst aspect of the illegal drug trade is that it has its deepest impact on those who are most vulnerable - youth. Because of innate curiosity and thirst for new experiences, the young are particularly susceptible to the "drug experience". According to Canada's 1990 Health Promotion Survey, 5% of all persons over the age of 15 (just over 1 million Canadians) used marijuana during the year preceding the survey. In 1989-1990, there were 21,507 separations from general and psychiatric hospitals for drug-related disorders. In terms of age, 15-19 year-olds had the highest separation rates (166.6 per 100,000) for drug problems, followed by those aged 20-24 (134.9)

New Trends

New and disturbing social trends emerge as a result of drug use. "Brace for cocaine babies", reads a recent Toronto newspaper headline. Preliminary study results revealed in June, 1994, say that babies born to cocaine-addicted mothers fall behind in language and cognitive skills. About 5,000 babies born in Metro Toronto hospitals each year have been exposed to cocaine in their mothers' wombs in the three months before birth. School boards should be bracing for the demands created by these children and it is estimated that the new requirements of education are going to be large.

According to Vancouver police, a growing number of children, some as young as five, are actively involved in their parents' heroin trafficking. The increasing involvement of children can be attributed in part to the fact that hard drugs are being sold more and more out of homes.

While in its infancy in Canada, pre-employment testing has become common among major U.S. companies. The Toronto Dominion Bank, the only Canadian bank with mandatory drug testing, launched its program in 1991 and has now tested about 9,000 prospective employees for evidence of cannabis, cocaine or opiate abuse. The practice was challenged by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association as a violation of the Canadian Human Rights Act.

Drug War - U.S. Experience

Are we winning the "War on Drugs"? The Final Report of the White House Conference for a Drug-Free America in June 1988 began with these ominous words: "The way in which we face the threat of drugs today may well determine the success or failure of our country in the future. As a people we have survived the Depression, civil and international wars, and devastating disease; but now this country could dissolve not because of external threat, but because of our own failure to control illegal drug use ..."

Since 1980, the United States has spent more than $100 billion in its war on drugs. Both supporters and critics of the American drug strategy take heart from statistics indicating that drug use has declined in recent years. The number of drug abusers fell from about 14.5 million persons in 1988 to 12.6 million in 1991. But if the availability of illegal drugs is the principal measure of success, the effectiveness of the war on drugs is less clear. Cocaine, heroin and marijuana are as available and as inexpensive as ever. Drug use fluctuates, but it is not going away.

Canadian Patterns

In Canada, the National Drug Strategy was launched in 1987. It was immediately denounced as Ottawa's latest folly: The National Drug Tragedy. According to its critics, the National Drug Strategy stood guilty of stating the obvious - and missing the point. It all but ignored the fact that the drug epidemic thrives on astronomical profits and inadequate law enforcement. Historically, it has been affluent scoundrels who supported and ran the drug trade. The National Drug Strategy urged 'demand reduction' when public intolerance and outrage are our best and only real hope.

It would strongly appear that with tougher American legislation, a number of criminal lab operators are coming to Canada as a safer haven to purchase chemicals. Some of them appear to be staying in Canada to produce finished products. Police experts here say that Canada's proposed new legislation on controlled drugs does not go nearly as far as their U.S. counterpart. The U.S. bars about 150 chemicals; Bill C-7 evidently proposes only six. Our police across Canada want more to be done. They also want more training for law enforcement personnel generally to better protect their safety and lives while investigating and closing down clandestine labs. They also want more teeth in the law for sentencing convicted offenders who possess illegal chemicals.