Racism & Drug Policy

Racism in Canadian Drug Policy

In 2017, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination investigated issues within Canada and listed a number of concerns and recommendations. This included collecting more demographic information, implementing a national Anti-Racism strategy, re-examining drug policies, and many more recommendations (United Nations, 2017). The U.N. made it clear that Canada has deeply rooted issues with racial discrimination, and that this is reflected in Canada’s drug policies.

A history of racist drug laws

In order to understand the overdose crisis and current disparities in substance use and criminal justice, we must understand the history of drug laws in our country. This history has very little to do with the actual social and physical harms associated with the drugs that are illegal, and more to do with moralism and racism towards Black, Chinese, and Indigenous people (Maynard, 2017, Turner, 2017, Hari, 2015). This is evident in criminal justice disparities, and in the ways that drugs which are objectively less harmful than others, such as ecstasy and cannabis, are highly criminalized across the world, whereas drugs that are proven to be more harmful, such as alcohol and benzodiazepines, are not (Global Commission on Drug Policy, 2017). The development of punitive drug policies has largely been fuelled by fears of racial integration, Indigenous sovereignty, and of Black and Chinese men coupling with White women (Maynard, 2017; Turner, 2017).

the “War on Drugs” in CANADA

After the "War on Drugs" was announced by Ronald Reagan in the United States in the 1980s, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney was quick to announce our own War on Drugs, based on the false belief that communities were being ravaged by drugs, despite the fact that marijuana, cocaine, and heroin use were on a steady decline (Maynard, 2017). This began a shift in law enforcement towards a "tough on crime" stance, leading to increased surveillance on the streets and at the borders, the militarization of police forces, new police powers to seize the assets of drug offenders, mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes, and police carding practices (Maynard, 2017). This has led to huge increases over the years in the number of Black and Indigenous people in prison, while the number of White inmates has dropped (John Howard Society of Canada, 2017).

Racial Disparities

Indigenous Canadians account for 24.4% of the federal prison population, and just 4.3% of the general population - this is a 500% overrepresentation. Black Canadians represent the fastest growing group in federal prisons, accounting for 10% of the federal prison population, but only make up 3% of the general population - this is a 300% overrepresentation.

Data shows that White Canadians are equally as likely to engage in drug crime as racialized people, and that White youth are actually more likely to engage in drug crimes and be carrying drugs when stopped – yet they are underrepresented in all areas of criminal justice.

Drug use is behaviour-based and as such, it creates a system whereby we can selectively criminalize Black and Indigenous people, poor people, and people with mental health challenges without seeming racist, classist, or sanist.

Legally-mandated discrimination

Once a person is labeled a felon, it becomes legal to discriminate against them in housing, employment, and education, creating what operates as a legally-mandated second-class citizenship (Maynard, 2017; Hart, 2013). On the books, the laws are not racist, but the enforcement of the law is. When police are heavily situated in Black and Indigenous communities, the results are that more Black and Indigenous people are arrested. This creates stories and realities that reinforce notions about criminality and contribute to a self-perpetuating cycle that destroys individuals' lives and communities.

References

Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. (2017). International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Rep. No. (CERD/C/CAN/21-23). United Nations.

Global Commission on Drug Policy. (2017). The world drug perception problem: Countering prejudices about people who use drugs. Retrieved from http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/GCDP-Report-2017_Perceptions-ENGLISH.pdf

Hari, J. (2015). Chasing the scream: The first and last days of the war on drugs. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing. 

Hart, C. (2013). High price: A neuroscientist's journey of self-discovery that challenges everything you know about drugs and society. New York, NY: Harper.

John Howard Society of Canada. (2017). Race, crime, and justice in Canada. Retrieved from http://johnhoward.ca/blog/race-crime-justice-canada/

Maynard, R. (2017). Policing black lives: State violence in Canada from slavery to the present. Black Point, NS: Fernwood Publishing.

Turner, G. (2017, July 17). Race, on drugs [Audio podcast]. On drugs. CBC Radio One. Available from https://www.cbc.ca/listen/shows/on-drugs/episode/13540896