Some jurisdictions in Canada have experimented or called for policy interventions under a banner of drug “decriminalization” in recent years. Despite decriminalization proponents calling for the removal of enforcement actors and reduction of criminal legal governance from the lives of people who use drugs, police have been remarkably involved in crafting such measures, in limiting their purview, and in carrying out their implementation. The development of decriminalization initiatives has culminated in measures characterized by uncertain legal protections, and have sustained or expanded police discretion and role in the governance of people who use drugs, particularly those racialized and/or poor.
This study examines this key contradiction through a critical realist review (Pawson, 2005; Stevens, 2019) of the decriminalization models proposed to the federal government and corresponding consultations with law enforcement, through an assessment of Freedom-of-Information and Access-to-Information requests.
The findings reveal the deference to – and privileging of – law enforcement positions throughout the policy process by health authorities. The findings provide clear demonstration of law enforcement mission creep in which police are positioned as playing a crucial role in “linkage” to healthcare and drug treatment. The presentation discusses the adaptive strategies of enforcement actors through their reliance on other legal tools to sustain their role in governing the lives of people who use drugs (Singh Kelsall & Michaud, 2023). The study further highlights the contributions of methodological approaches employing Freedom-of-Information requests to drug policy scholarship, by mapping the responses of criminal legal actors ambivalent or hostile to the aims of drug law reform.