Keywords
Canada, Narcotics Legislation, Origins, Process, Criminalization, Historical, Context, federal Commission, non-medical use, possession of marijuana, state policy, psychoactive, re-appraisal
Abstract
The year 1972 saw a federal Commission investigating the non-medical use of drugs recommend repeal of the offence of possession of marijuana', an indication that state policy with respect to the social control of psychoactive substances was undergoing a thorough re-appraisal. It is not surprising, then, that the past decade should also have seen a considerable degree of academic interest in Canada's initial attempt to make criminal the citizen's desire to alter consciousness. A comprehensive review of this admirable collection of research reveals that Canada ought not to take pride in these initial efforts. The initial statute has been explained with reference to its "racist and moralistic foundation", by the "galloping reformist zeal of Mackenzie King" and by the increasing affront of "cheap Oriental labour".2
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Neil Boyd, “The Origins of Canadian Narcotics Legislation: The Process of Criminalization in Historical Context” (1984) 8:1 DLJ 102.
