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More Canadians Concerned About Drug Abuse
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in Canada are worried about drug abuse, according to a poll by Angus Reid Strategies. 51 per cent of respondents think their country has a serious problem and it affects the whole country, up eight points since June.
On Oct. 4, Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper officially introduced his $63.8 million anti-drug strategy. Harper declared: "If you get involved with drugs, you can receive help to get away from them. However, if you sell drugs or produce drugs, you will go to prison."
In the survey, 89 per cent of respondents support the introduction of a National Anti-Drug Strategy, including a nationwide awareness campaign to discourage young Canadians from using drugs, and 74 per cent are in favour of ensuring mandatory minimum prison sentences and large fines for marijuana grow operators and drug dealers. Roughly four-in-ten respondents would scrap the previous government’s marijuana decriminalization legislation, and eliminate "harm reduction" programs, such as supervised injection sites and needle-exchange programs.
Harper discussed his personal views on "harm reduction" programs, saying, "I remain a skeptic that you can tell people we won’t stop the drug trade, we won’t get you off drugs, we won’t even send messages to discourage drug use, but somehow we will keep you addicted and yet reduce the harm just the same."
In November 2004, the Canadian federal government—headed at the time by Liberal prime minister Paul Martin—re-introduced a controversial bill that sought "alternate penalty frameworks" for the possession of small amounts of marijuana. The bill, which would have allowed any person caught with 15 grams of the drug or less to face fines instead of criminal charges, was never put to a vote in the House of Commons.
On Oct. 11, Green party leader Elizabeth May expressed dissatisfaction with Harper’s policies, saying, "An overwhelming body of evidence supports the notion that an effective drug strategy would focus on prevention, treatment facilities and harm reduction programs."
More than half of Canadians—51 per cent of respondents—support the legalization of marijuana, but less than 10 per cent would consent to the consumption of five other illegal drugs.
Polling Data
Which one of the following statements comes closest to your view?
|
Oct. 2007 |
Jun. 2007 |
|
|
Canada has a serious drug abuse problem and it affects the whole country |
51% |
43% |
|
Canada’s drug abuse problem is confined to specific areas and people |
32% |
39% |
|
Canada does not have a serious drug abuse problem |
11% |
11% |
|
Not sure |
6% |
6% |
Do you support or oppose each of these measures proposed by the federal government to deal with drug abuse?
("Support" listed)
|
Oct. 2007 |
Jun. 2007 |
|
|
Introducing a National Anti-Drug Strategy, including a nationwide awareness campaign to discourage young Canadians from using drugs |
89% |
86% |
|
Ensuring mandatory minimum prison sentences and large fines for marijuana grow operators and drug dealers |
74% |
71% |
|
Scrapping the previous government’s marijuana decriminalization legislation |
40% |
38% |
|
Eliminating "harm reduction" programs, such as supervised injection sites and needle-exchange programs |
38% |
37% |
Do you support or oppose the legalization of each of the following drugs?
("Support" listed)
|
Oct. 2007 |
Jun. 2007 |
|
|
Marijuana |
51% |
55% |
|
Heroin |
9% |
9% |
|
Ecstasy |
9% |
8% |
|
Powder cocaine |
8% |
8% |
|
Crack cocaine |
7% |
7% |
|
Methamphetamine or "crystal meth" |
7% |
7% |
Source: Angus Reid Strategies
Methodology: Online interviews with 1,004 Canadian adults, conducted on Oct. 11 and Oct. 12, 2007. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.
