The
coalition theory provides some insights on how the opioid crisis can be
managed. Through this approach, multiple
interest groups can come together to collectively approach a specific issue. Moreover, a common opponent can be identified
and targeted. Specifically related to
the opioid crisis, it becomes evident that the main stakeholders for this
matter are as follows, the government, the police, the first responders, the
pharmaceutical companies, the drug users and the drug pushers. Other groups that may have an interest in
this matter are support groups such as Narcotics Anonymous and SMART Recovery
amongst others. The strategic policy
intervention to be set forth with consideration of the coalition theory is a
Power Point presentation. The intended
audience is the stakeholders and its valuable that each know their part and
others so that all parties work in unity.
Its purpose is to bring awareness to a common opponent whereby the
presentation will then suggest effective action to neutralize threats to the
society which therefore will hopefully reduce overdoes, deaths and crime. It
will also suggest the incremental regulation of illicit drugs. The government regulation of illicit drugs
deals with purity, potency, dosage, documentation, customer, time and route of
intake.
The
common opponent is clearly the drug pushers who sell illicit drugs and the
Power Point will reflect this while suggesting ways to curb their role.
The sales of drugs in the black
market is an issue of contention because often what is sold is not regulated,
sometimes its spiked with things such as Fentanyl resulting in overdoses and
deaths. Drug trafficking also it causes unwanted
violence, dangerous streets, and social decay.
The opioid crisis has been worsened by COVID wherein, “15,400
people [died] in Canada since 2016” (Coletta 2020). British Columbia is considered to be the
epicenter of this event. “Nearly four
times as many people in the province have died of a suspected overdose this
year as have died of the Coronavirus” (Coletta 2020). The
sale of illicit drugs is illegal according to the Criminal Code of Canada which
specifies that possession and trafficking are punishable and labeled as crimes. The criminalization
of certain drugs [commenced] in 1908,” where law prevented the, “importation,
manufacture, and sale of opium for other than medical purposes” (Boyd 2015,
51). Cocaine was made an addition as an
illegal substance in 1911 under the Opium and Drug Act. Further, the Opium and Narcotic Act in 1922 specified
sentences for possession, a minimum of 6 months. Deportation of drug offenders was then
permitted as well as searches without a warrant requiring reasonable cause
(Boyd 2015, 55). In 1951, the Narcotic
Control Act established, “the terms for life imprisonment for importation or
“trafficking” in “narcotics,” specifically the opiates, Cocaine and Marijuana”
(Boyd 2015, 57). By 1997, the Controlled
Drugs and Substances Act merged all previous legislations.
There are conflicting beliefs on the matter involving the
decriminalization of possession. “Trudeau
told the Canadian Press last year that decriminalization was not a “panacea.”
Health Minister Patty Hajdu clarified the governments harm- reduction measures
but neglected to cover decriminalization specifically. However, in British Columbia, Vancouver, the
city council conducted a vote to, “ request
to the federal government for an exemption from the Controlled Drugs and
Substances Act to allow the possession of small amounts of illicit substances
within the city's boundaries” (Larsen 2020).
It remains to be seen how the current political regime will
respond. However, “The NDP supports
the call for decriminalization of personal possession of illicit drugs” (Baker
2020) while the Conservatives are critical of the legalization of any hard
drugs (True North Wire 2020).
Authorities such as Dr. Bonnie
Henry, B.C.’s top doctor declared the, “war on drugs,” is a failure (Eagland
2019).
Dr. Adam Winstock conducted a
survey reviewing, “130,000 people across 36 countries” (Hristova
2019) it revealed that Canadians ranked high in drug/ alcohol
use. Such is the case when, “Researchers asked 1,960 Canadians how many days they used
Cocaine in the last 12 months…. Canada had the second-highest median number of
days with 10” (Hristova 2019). Moreover, “Susan Bondy, an of the University
of Toronto, [says] “[Canadians] sit high for drug and alcohol use in a lot of
these studies”” (Hristova 2019).
Therefore, it seems that public resonance on the issue is probable that
citizens support at least the decriminalization of the possession of some hard
drugs as clearly Canadians are already using these.
It
is hoped that incremental change occurs which will reduce the negative effects
of the sale of these illicit drugs. The opioid crisis is a unique problem that segments
power or authority to several different groups.
As mentioned, each stakeholder mentioned has some form of power in this
matter. However, when it comes to the
black market, power is dispersed to the government, police and the drug
pushers. It is also important to note
that drug users have the capital to be able to purchase these illicit drugs,
however, their influence is often overlooked as they are, for example
stigmatized.
There are several policy interventions available when attempting to change legislation to encourage the legalization and regulation of the black market. As mentioned, a Power Point identifying each interest group that details the role of those each involved is the method selected to vilify the opponent whereby overdoes, death and crime are reduced. However, other policy interventions were considered which include letters to politicians and advocacy document. It is clear that the Power Point presentation can accomplish more than either because those specifically in the field involved in the matter are given the power to do something directly about this issue. Perhaps when the adverse effects of the opioid crisis have been alleviated letters to politicians can then be sent out which should then be followed with advocacy documents which should serve to focus on the matter of rectifying the stigmatization of drug use. For now however, a Power Point presentation suffices as appropriate to what is currently happening.
WORK
CITED
Boyd, Neil. (2015). Canadian Law An Introduction. USA:
Nelson.
Coletta, Amanda. (2020).
Canada’s other health crisis: As overdoses surge, officials call on
government to decriminalize illicit drugs.
Washington Post. Retrieved
from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/canada-drug-overdose-coronavirus/2020/08/15/559dabbe-dcd9-11ea-b4af-72895e22941d_story.html
Hristova, B. (2019). Canada ranks second in the world … National Post. Retrieved from: https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/canada-ranks-second-in-the-world-for-cocaine-use-and-feeling-conflicted-about-it-report
Larsen,
K. (2020). Vancouver to seek federal approval to
decriminalize simple possession of illicit drugs. CBC News.
Retrieved from: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-drug-decriminalization-1.5806519
Nick Eagland. (2019). Overdose crisis: B.C.'s top doctor calls for decriminalization of
drug possession for personal use.
Vancouver Sun. Retrieved
from: https://vancouversun.com/health/local-health/overdose-crisis-b-c-s-top-doctor-calls-for-decriminalization-of-drug-possession-for-personal-use/
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