The drug laws are changing in Saskatchewan, with the province raising bets for trapped people using or distributing fentanyl and methamphetamine.
The province wants to give the police more power to take properties, suspend licenses and arrest people.
Saskatchewan is also considering following Alberta’s leadership and the introduction of involuntary treatment. That means that drug users would be detained and forced to detoxify and undergo a treatment against their will.
“Alberta has been talking about his involuntary treatment for some time,” Saskatchewan Justice Minister Tim McLeod said Tuesday. “Saskatchewan has been observing with a great eye in that legislation and its development. We are certainly observing very carefully and we are considering what our options could be in that space.”
Alberta’s government plans to spend $ 180 million in three years to build two involuntary drug addiction treatment centers.
Would involuntary treatment be effective?
A proposed law, called Compassionate Intervention Law, would allow family members, doctors or police to request a mandatory treatment of a judge if you consider themselves a danger to themselves or for others. This would be similar to a mental health order.
Public health experts in Saskatchewan say they oppose the model.
“It is possible that you can drag someone to a center, force him to stop using substances at that time,” said Barbara Fornssler, assistant professor at the Saskatchewan University School of Public Health. “But when the opportunity is available again, they will take it, because we have not really approached those underlying drivers of substance abuse. [It’s] rooted in trauma and lack of available resources. “
The Canadian Medicine Society recently reviewed 22 studies worldwide, analyzing the effectiveness of involuntary treatment. The studies were mainly taken from Canada, the United States and China.
Of the 22 studies, 10 reported negative results, five found no differences and seven found improvements, mainly in retention. One of the seven found a reduction in the use of substances after treatment.
Drug treatment as an alternative to jail, fines
According to the Criminal Code, the courts cannot force anyone to drug treatment. But in certain cases, they can offer it as an alternative to a sentence in custody, with the threat of time in jail if the person does not complete the treatment.
Saskatchewan announced Tuesday that people could receive fines of up to $ 1 million if they are trapped by driving or distributing methamphetamine or fentanyl. But he said that these fines would be significantly reduced if criminals take addiction treatment.
The Canadian association of civil liberties said that people are really not giving an option at all.
“It is basically like exchanging a prison cell for another,” said Harini Sivalingam, director of the Equality Program. “We will reduce your prayer or reduce your fine if you enter a treatment center. It is not really an option and I think that is what we should really focus.”
It is basically like exchanging a jail cell for another.– Harini Sivalingam, director of the CCLA Equality Program
The Government also announced that it will cancel the provincial licenses for people convicted of drug -related crimes. That would include driving licenses, firearms, hunting and fishing.
“I suppose it remains to be seen if those measures will be effective,” said Carla Beck, the NDP leader at a press conference on Thursday. “Taking out that poison from our communities is absolutely something that we should all worry.”
The latest federal figures, as of September, say that more than 47,000 Canadians have died of toxic opioids since 2016.
