The Commission of Inquiry into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs is mandated by the Liberal government of Pierre Elliott Trudeau to make recommendations on the regulation of drugs in Canada. It was headed by Gerald Le Dain, a lawyer who later became a judge of the Supreme Court of Canada. Naloxone is a substance that can be given urgently to prevent drug overdoses. It is no longer considered a controlled substance in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, which means it can be obtained without consulting a pharmacist. This will make it easier for people to get naloxone so they can save more lives. After a slowdown under the Liberal Party government from 1993 to 2006, Stephen Harper`s Conservative Party government continued to take a hard line in the fight against drugs with the National Anti-Drug Strategy,[24] which introduced a series of preventative measures in fiscal year 2007 that cost the Canadian government tens of millions of dollars.[25] A new edition of this strategy was even produced in 2015 under the name of the Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy, which increased prevention spending by 20%[26]. This latest revival, the final chapter of this « war on drugs, » was developed primarily in response to the opioid crisis that was looming at the time. However, the Commission`s report was brushed aside by the government of the day and only proved its real usefulness at the Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs in 2001, where it first gained political legitimacy. Nevertheless, Trudeau`s refusal to implement the report`s recommendations must be seen in a North American political context of increasing police repression that arose in the United States in the late 1960s. Then-US President Richard Nixon declared in 1971 that drug abuse was now « public enemy number 1. »[20] Other penalties related to cannabis-impaired driving are also included in Canada`s proposed drug-impaired driving law, as are the rules for drug-impaired driving, including: Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), The Legalization of Marijuana in Colorado: The Impact, available from rmhidta.org/files/D2DF/FINAL-Volume6.pdf. In Canada, the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CONTROLLEDSA) provides for several offences and penalties related to prohibited drugs and substances. The main offences under the SATA are: possession (e.g., keeping at home), trafficking (selling or buying), importing and exporting drugs, and manufacturing drugs (e.g., growing plants in one`s own garage).

Since the 17th century. As of October 2018, cannabis is legal in Canada and is governed by Bill C-45, a cannabis compliance act and amending the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Criminal Code and other Acts[1]. It is the first Western country to legalize the substance. T.S. Ghosh, D.I. Vigil, A. Maffey et al. « Lessons learned after three years of legalized, recreational marijuana: The Colorado experience Â, » Preventive Medicine, 104, 2017, pp. 4-6. Since investment in the fight against drugs has been steady since the criminalization of the substance, the 1980s in North America were marked by an increase in the repressive nature of the government apparatus for this purpose, which has been widely referred to as the war on drugs. The term comes from the United States, where its then president, Ronald Reagan, made massive investments in 1986, among other things, to testify to the attitude of his presidency towards the fight against drugs[21].

In addition, this trend towards massive investment, as well as criminalisation, is strongly influenced by racism against ethnic minorities[22]. In the late 1990s, the debate over the medical use of cannabis began. The spread of the benefits of cannabis by various interest groups has changed the alarmist discourse for many.[14] In this context, a Special Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs was established in 2000. Changes over time in respondents` willingness© to admit that they use drugs, in their©deterioration from what constitutes drug use, and in the risk of©legal consequences©may not be controlled or©combated, but may affect outcomes©©©. © In Canada, as in many other countries, access to cannabis for medical purposes and, more© recently, to cannabis for non-medical purposes©©may have influenced the willingness© to disclose©© its©use. These changes may be particularly relevant in older adults©and, therefore©©, some of the observed increases©may indicate not a change in behaviour, but a new willingness© to report one`s own use.