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The Regulation Project is a project of Canadian Drug Policy Coalition (CDPC).
What kinds of regulatory decisions could we make?
There are hundreds of regulatory decisions we can make to organize a post-prohibition system for substances. These can range from decisions about who has access to drugs, what they have to do to get drugs, the conditions under which drugs are produced and distributed, how they are packaged and labeled, the size and concentrations provided, how they are advertised, where they can be acquired, where they can be consumed, what kinds of health and other information needs to be provided to consumers, and what happens when people break the rules – to list only a few. We are initially focusing on five factors that research tells us are not only directly tied to how risky it is to consume a substance, but are important to consumers when deciding whether they will use the new legal system:
Factor:
Six Priorities of Legal Regulation
Promote public health, safety, and justice
Government regulations based on evidence can allow us to maximize individual and community health and safety. We can teach people how to use drugs in a way that lowers their risk of harm, including overdose. We can design a system that is safe, fair, and rights the wrongs of prohibition.
Educate about safer drug use
Because drugs are illegal, it is very difficult to share official messages to drug consumers beyond, “don’t do them.” In a regulated system, though, there would be lots of opportunities to engage with consumers about risks of use and safer practices.
Create a safe supply
A regulated system would control the quality and potency of drugs consumed. This would drastically reduce the number of accidental overdoses to people taking drugs that are unknown and tainted with adulterants.
Displace the illegal, unregulated market
Prohibition allows organized crime to control the production and distribution of drugs. The drive for profit leads criminal actors to contaminate the drug supply with toxic substances. This puts lives at risk. Taking control of the drug supply means taking the power and decisions about drugs away from the criminals.
Save taxpayers' money
The yearly criminal justice, health care and lost productivity costs of illegal substances are tens of billions of dollars, and organized criminal actors don’t pay taxes. A regulated system would reallocate criminal justice funds towards social supports and services.
Protect youth
Criminals don’t care whether young people access drugs or not, and they don’t check ID. Right now, drugs are widely available to young people. A regulated system would be designed to discourage drug use by young people and educate them about the risks of drug use.
