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11.13 For the roughly 50,000 persons charged [in 1999], 90 percent of the charges related to cannabis and cocaine. Cannabis accounted for over two thirds of the charges, and about half of all charges were for possession.

Exhibit 11.2

Number of persons charged for offences under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act in Canada during 1999

Substance	Possession	Trafficking	Importation	Cultivation	Total	Percentage
Heroin	351	800	23	-	1,174	2
Cocaine	3,375	6,990	184	-	10,549	21
Other drugs	1,797	1,561	157	-	3,515	7
Cannabis	21,381	8,112	157	4,697	34,347	70
Total	26,904	17,463	521	4,697	49,585	100
Percentage	54	35	1	10	100

Note: Data report number of persons charged by most serious offence in a given incident. For example, if a person was charged with armed robbery and possession of a small quantity of drugs at the same time, the drug charge would not show up in the above figures. This prevents double counting of the number of persons charged.

"Number of persons charged" means persons charged by police or persons whom the police recommended that charges be laid against.

Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey

Exhibit 11.5

Street value of Canada Customs and Revenue Agency's drug seizures in 1999

Source: Canada Customs and Revenue Agency

. . .

11.19 . . .  Recently, the United Nations International Narcotics Control Board raised some concern about Canada's efforts to eradicate cannabis. British Columbia's Organized Crime Agency estimates that more than 15,000 growing operations in British Columbia produce $6 billion worth of marijuana annually. The law enforcement community believes that a significant portion of this is smuggled to the United States; however, Canada supplies only a small portion of the U.S. market.

. . .

11.60 About 95 percent of the federal government's expenditures that address illicit drugs were used for supply reduction (enforcement or interdiction). The RCMP, Correctional Service Canada, and the Department of Justice spent most of the money (Exhibit 11.6). The federal government's expenditures on enforcement reflect its role in supply reduction; the federal role in reducing the demand for illicit drugs is less clear. Federal expenditures that address illicit drugs also benefit other federal priorities. For example, expenditures on drug enforcement benefit the government's organized crime priorities.

11.61 What the provinces, territories, and municipalities are spending to reduce the demand for illicit drugs and their supply is not known.

Exhibit 11.6

Estimated federal expenditures that address illicit drugs for 1999-2000

Department or agency	Activities	Estimated 1999-2000 expenditures ($ millions)
		Supply reduction	Demand reduction	Total
Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse	Promotes drug awareness, harm reduction, effectiveness of programs, and development and exchange of information.		1	1
Canada Customs and Revenue Agency	Intercepts illicit drugs and drug traffickers at the Canadian border. 1	14 to 36	-	-
	Administers Special Enforcement Program aimed at people profiting from illegal activities. 2	(4)	-	10 to 32
Canadian Institutes of Health Research	Funds research projects on addiction.		1	1
Correctional Service Canada	Deals with offenders serving sentences in whole or part for drug-related offences. 3	154
	Administers substance abuse programs, including alcohol.		8
	Administers treatment programs (for example, methadone).		4
	Conducts urinalysis testing.	3
	Undertakes security measures to control supply in institutions.	Unknown		169
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade	Manages Canada's international drug activities, including contributions to the United Nations Drug Control Program and the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission.	1	1	2
Department of Justice	Prosecutes drug offences.	56
	Provides legal aid and contributions to provinces and territories for juvenile justice services ultimately used for drug cases.	14
	Carries out projects (by its National Crime Prevention Centre) focussed on alcohol and drug abuse.		1	71
Health Canada	Provides laboratory analysis services to the police to test suspected seized drugs.	5
	Administers controlled drug legislation, including import-export licence responsibilities.	2
	Makes contributions under the $15.5 million "Alcohol and Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation Program" (ADTR). Our estimate of the illicit drug portion is $7 million.		7
	Co-ordinates Canada's Drug Strategy and manages the ADTR program.		1	15
National Parole Board	Makes parole decisions on offenders sentenced for serious drug offences.	4		4
Public Works and Government Services Canada	Manages assets seized by law enforcement and distributes residual proceeds upon disposal. 4	(10)		(10)
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Federal Policing Services)	Focusses on large-scale trafficking and importation cases involving organized crime, seizure of assets from proceeds of crime, and intelligence and specialized services such as physical and electronic surveillance. Participates in joint force operations that are both ad hoc and permanent.	164
	Administers drug awareness programs.		4	168
Solicitor General Canada	Administers policy, conducts research, and co-ordinates enforcement activities.	1	-	1
Total		404 to 426	28	432 to 454

¹ Because the Agency's illicit drug interdiction work is highly integrated with its other activities, the estimate is presented as a likely range within which the cost of drug interdiction falls. This represents between four and eight percent of its 1999-2000 expenditures totalling $464 million.

² The figure shown is assessed taxes and fines net of investigation costs.

³ This estimate covers all aspects associated with drug offenders incarcerated and under community supervision, including both direct and indirect costs.

⁴ The figure shown is the federal government's share of revenue generated from the disposal of assets seized from the drug trade net of costs incurred by the Department to manage the assets. The total federal government's share of revenue net of costs was $10 million. RCMP investigation and Department of Justice prosecution costs, which total over $40 million annually, are not included in this figure.

Updated:Monday, 12-May-2003 15:17:05 PDT| Accessed:9301times