Illicit Drugs

Public Safety Canada and Portfolio Agencies including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Correctional Service Canada (CSC), Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the National Parole Board (NPB) are working in close collaboration with Health Canada, the Department of Justice and key stakeholders to tackle illicit drug issues. Public Safety Canada also continues to work in partnership with its provincial, territorial and municipal law enforcement counterparts to reduce the supply of, and demand for, illicit drugs.

National Anti-Drug Strategy

In 2007, the Government of Canada implemented a comprehensive National Anti-Drug Strategy, led by Justice Canada, to reduce the supply of and demand for illicit drugs with an emphasis on dissuading young people from using drugs. The Strategy focuses on three priority areas: combating illicit drug production and distribution operations; preventing illicit drug use and decreasing the impacts of drug use; and, treating and rehabilitating those with illicit drug dependencies. Increased enforcement activities under the Strategy have proactively targeted organized crime involvement in illicit drug production and distribution operations, such as marihuana grow operations and clandestine laboratories. It has also enhanced the capacity of the criminal justice system to investigate, interdict and prosecute offenders. The National Anti-Drug Strategy received $232 million from Budget 2007.

The National Anti-Drug Strategy is complemented by other strategies led by Public Safety Canada, in particular the National Crime Prevention Strategy that focuses on reducing those factors, including illicit drug use, that place certain populations of children and youth at risk and the Youth Gang Strategy that focuses on preventing children and youth from joining gangs, and supporting the exiting of those in gangs. The National Crime Prevention Strategy received an additional $30 million from Budget 2008.

The Enforcement Action Plan, led by Public Safety Canada, bolsters law enforcement efforts to investigate and prosecute drug crimes.  It will increase law enforcement's capacity to combat marihuana grow operations and synthetic drug production and distribution operations.  The Government of Canada has committed approximately $102 million from the National Anti-Drug Strategy funding to implement the Enforcement Action Plan.  

The Enforcement Action Plan will:

• provide funding to the RCMP to expand their anti-drug teams;
• provide resources to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada to provide legal advice to law enforcement;
• increase the number of Health Canada inspectors and investigators;
• help law enforcement agencies stop the flow of money that organized crime makes from the illicit drug trade;
• improve the ability of Canadian law enforcement agencies to conduct joint investigations; and
• ensure that strong penalties are in place for serious drug crimes;

On August 25, 2009, the Government of Canada announced the launch of the Synthetic Drug Initiative, under the auspices of the National Anti-Drug Strategy. The Synthetic Drug Initiative, the first Canadian drug strategy to specifically focus on a single class of drugs, is an RCMP-led program designed to eliminate the production and distribution of illegal synthetic drugs in Canada, and reduce the overall influence of organized crime on drug trafficking in Canada.  The Synthetic Drug Initiative targets the illicit synthetic drug industry on three fronts; enforcement, deterrence and prevention.  It also aims to inhibit the diversion of precursor chemicals from foreign and domestic sources.

National Framework for Action

The National Framework for Action to Reduce the Harms Associated with Alcohol and Other Drugs and Substances links federal, provincial, territorial, municipal and community initiatives to common principles, goals and priorities. Public Safety Canada is involved in the National Framework for Action, providing a policy expertise and coordinating role between the health, law enforcement, policing and correctional communities.

International Cooperation

Through successful binational fora, such as the Cross Border Crime Forum, the United States and Canada have increased intelligence-sharing and joint training opportunities for law enforcement which has resulted in greater success in seizing drugs crossing the U.S.-Canada border and in apprehending those that traffic them. Further demonstrating this shared commitment to the fight against illicit drugs, our two countries have published a joint Border Drug Threat Assessment Report which highlights our shared success and challenges in combating the cross border movement of illicit drugs.

International Sources

• United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime World Drug Report
• OAS (Organization of American States) / CICAD (Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission) Annual Report of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission

Date modified:

2015-12-16