LIST OF PANELS

Type of panel: Onsite

There is growing evidence that drug prohibition - the criminalization of illicit drug use and possession coupled with a reliance on the criminal justice system as a primary intervention - fails to deter drug use and has only served to criminalize drug users (Government of Canada, 2016). This has reinforced the over-policing of racialized communities and the overrepresentation of marginalized communities in criminal justice systems (Khenti, 2014).  However, there has been a noticeable shift over the last several years. In May 2022, in the face of an ongoing opioid crisis, British Columbia was granted a three-year exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which effectively decriminalized possession of small amounts of illicit street drugs. Internationally, Portugal’s decriminalization of all illicit drugs has reduced drug-law offenses, judicial costs, and drug-related deaths (Felix, Tavares & Portugal, 2017). In 2020, the state of Oregon also decriminalized possession and personal use of all illicit drugs.  Increasingly, substance use and addiction is being framed as a public health issue – not a criminal one. The expanding discourse on decriminalization is connected to shifts in public attitudes, which has considerable implications on the direction of future policy making (MacQuarrie & Brunelle, 2022).

Decriminalization exists along a continuum of approaches to drug use, ranging from criminalization to legalization. Under decriminalization frameworks, drug use and possession are still prohibited, but sanctions for this conduct do not fall under criminal law - they are considered administrative offenses (Felix, Tavares & Portugal, 2017). This panel focuses on decriminalization in lieu of other policy approaches as this represents the emergent direction of many global jurisdictions. It is important to emphasize that decriminalization is not a uniform approach, with significant variation in the design and structure of models through which it has been implemented. These models have considerable heterogeneity and lack articulation around their different definitions and details (Greer et al., 2022). Indeed, decriminalization is a complex issue in that it also bears the risk for pitfalls or unintended adverse consequences (Fischer, Boyd and Brochu 2021, 13). While calls for decriminalization are growing, they should be cautiously analyzed and scrutinized with an understanding that decriminalization frameworks cannot always be transferred from one setting to another (Fischer, Boyd & Brochu, 2021). 

There is a gap in the literature regarding the various design features of decriminalization frameworks (Greer et al., 2022), and this panel aims to address this gap by focusing on the differing approaches to decriminalization and will include domestic and international perspectives of drug policy. In this panel, we will explore the following research questions: 

1. What are the politics of decriminalization, and how does this shape policy?

2. Which decriminalization frameworks have been effective in reducing harms associated with drug use? Are these frameworks transferable? 

3. How has decriminalization policy been implemented? What challenges must be considered?

4. How have different jurisdictions approached the challenges of evaluating policy?

References

Felix, S., Tavares, A., & Portugal, P. (2017). Going after the addiction, not the addicted: The impact of drug decriminalization in Portugal. Institute of Labor Economics. https://docs.iza.org/dp10895.pdf 

Fischer, B., Boyd, N., & Brochu, S. (2021). Proposals for decriminalization of illicit drug use: Considering a combination of deja-vu, diversion and devil-with-many-details for health-oriented policy reform. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 67(1), pp. 13-15.

Government of Canada. (2016). Towards the Legalization, Regulation and Restriction of Access to Marijuana. https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/hc-sc/healthy-canadians/migration/health-system-systeme-sante/consultations/legalization-marijuana-legalisation/alt/legalization-marijuana-legalisation-eng.pdf 

Greer, A., Bonn, M., Shane, C., Stevens, A., Tousenard, N., & Ritter, A. (2022). The details of decriminalization: Designing a non-criminal response to the possession of drugs for personal use. International Journal of Drug Policy, 102, 103605. 

Khenti, A. (2014). The Canadian war on drugs: Structural violence and unequal treatment of Black Canadians. International Journal of Drug Policy, 25, pp. 190-195. 

MacQuarrie, A.L., & Brunelle, C. (2022). Emerging attitudes regarding decriminalization: Predictors of pro-drug decriminalization attitudes in Canada. Journal of Drug Issues, 52(1), pp. 114-127.

The proposed research questions revolve around the themes of politics, policy formulation and design, implementation and evaluation, as well as broader political context. In order to comprehensively answer these questions, this panel will collect papers on a range of topics about global drug policy. Papers that analyze different regulatory models for drug use will be considered, especially those that provide comparative analysis between existing decriminalization frameworks throughout the world. Research that highlights stakeholder perspectives and influence, and the roles of practitioners will also be an asset to this panel. This combined focus can contribute to bridging the gap between policy and practice. Research that deconstructs drug policy discourse and its impacts on the political context of policy making will also be important, as this will reveal the challenges and considerations necessary to adopting decriminalization as a policy strategy. Work that focuses on the historical and cultural context of drug prohibition will also be accepted, as prohibitionist frameworks contain a historical significance and reflect the dominant approach to drug policy. This panel will also accept both qualitative and quantitative research, as well as theoretical works. Ultimately, the combination of these various research topics will result in a thorough and nuanced discussion of decriminalization, and contextualize its emergence within the field of drug policy.