An overview of non-medical use of prescription drugs and criminal justice issues in Canada / : Aperçu de la consommation à des fins non médicales des médicaments sur ordonnance et des questions de justice pénale au Canada

The following report explores the trends of non-medical use of prescription opioids (NMUPOs) and benzodiazepines (NMUBDs), the health and societal implications of non-medical use and some of the criminal justice policy issues in Canada. [...] There are currently no empirical specific assessments of the crime and criminal impacts of non- medical use of prescription drugs in Canada, thus only the potential nature and extent of crime and criminal impact is offered. [...] In the fall of 2007 in Manitoba, a total of 3.5% of males and 3.9% of females in grades 7 to senior 4 reported past year use of opioids. [...] Overall in the 7 sites in 2006, greater proportions of study participants injected Dilaudid than heroin in the previous 6 months (27.6% vs 32.9%) and the former drug’s use prevalence was higher in 4 of the 7 cities. [...] Other provincial studies have shown comparable results, with between 2.3% and 3% of student respondents in the provinces of NS, NB, NL and PE reporting such non-medical use of tranquilizers in the Student Drug Use Survey in the Atlantic Provinces (SDUSAP).