National Anti-Drug Strategy Implementation Evaluation, Final Report

1. Introduction

The National Anti-Drug Strategy (the "Strategy") is a horizontal initiative of 12 federal departments and agencies, led by the Department of Justice Canada (DOJ). As described in the Speech from the Throne in October 2007, the Strategy is a focused initiative whose goal is to "contribute to safer and healthier communities through coordinated efforts to prevent use, treat dependency and reduce production and distribution of illicit drugs."[2] The Strategy seeks to achieve this goal through three action plans devoted to prevention, treatment, and enforcement.

The Implementation Evaluation of the Strategy was conducted between December 2008 and September 2009 in accordance with the Treasury Board Evaluation Policy. The primary purpose of the evaluation was to assess whether the Strategy has been implemented as planned. This report summarizes the evaluation findings, draws conclusions, and provides recommendations.

The report is organized into several sections. The remainder of this section provides a brief descriptive overview of the Strategy. Section 2 presents the methodology used to complete the evaluation, while Section 3 presents the evaluation findings. Section 4 summarizes the findings, draws conclusions, and provides recommendations.

1.1. Overview of the National Anti-Drug Strategy

The Government of Canada has a long history in the horizontal management of drug issues, beginning with Canada's Drug Strategy (CDS), which began in 1987 and which focused on substance use and abuse. The National Anti-Drug Strategy, announced in 2007, represented a change from the former CDS in focusing particularly on illicit drug issues. More specifically, as noted in the Strategy RMAF, it is intended to improve Canada's response to illicit drug use and its consequences through three action plans to prevent drug use, particularly among youth, where rates of illicit drug use are higher than the general population; address critical treatment gaps in targeted populations and areas of need, including services for young people, First Nations and Inuit populations, and other vulnerable groups and areas such as Vancouver's Downtown Eastside; and enhance federal enforcement capacity to dismantle and disrupt domestic illicit drug production and distribution.

In addition to the DOJ, federal partners of the Strategy are:

The Strategy is intended "to prevent illicit drug use, particularly among youth, address critical treatment gaps in targeted populations and areas of need, and enhance federal enforcement capacity to dismantle and disrupt illicit drug production and distribution."[3] The Strategy seeks to achieve its goal through three action plans devoted to prevention, treatment, and enforcement. The objectives of each action plan are below.

Prevention Action Plan

Support efforts to:

Treatment Action Plan

Support effective treatment and rehabilitation systems and services by developing and implementing innovative and collaborative approaches.

Enforcement Action Plan

Contribute to the disruption of illicit drug operations in a safe manner, particularly targeting criminal organizations.

1.1.1. Funding

Funding for the Strategy consists of approximately $300 million in new funding over five years, as well as $278 million over five years in reoriented funding and funding from the former CDS, for a total of $578.5 million over five years. Table 1 summarizes the components of the Strategy, the department responsible for each, and their sources of funding (new, reoriented, or former CDS).

Table 1: Components of the National Anti-Drug Strategy and sources of funding

Prevention Action Plan
Component Department Sources of funding
Mass Media Campaign - A federal mass media prevention campaign to discourage young people from using drugs. HC New funding under the Strategy
Drug Strategy Community Initiatives Fund (DSCIF)- A funding program that supports national and regional prevention and health promotion projects to discourage illicit drug use among youth. Within this program, the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse is funded to develop and implement a five-year national prevention strategy for Canada's youth. HC Reoriented funding from the former CDS
Crime Prevention Action Fund (CPAF) - Supports targeted, evidence-based prevention projects to prevent and reduce substance-related crime among at-risk populations and communities. PS Reoriented funding from the National Crime Prevention Strategy
Drugs and Organized Crime Awareness Service (DOCAS) - Supports various initiatives across the country to increase awareness of the nature, extent, and consequences of substance use and abuse. RCMP Former CDS funding

Treatment Action Plan
Component Department Sources of funding
Drug Treatment Funding Program (DTFP) - A contributions funding program that provides financial support to provinces and territories to strengthen substance abuse treatment systems, investing in enhancements to treatment services to meet the critical illicit drug treatment needs of at-risk youth in high needs areas and supporting improvements to the treatment services and supports for injection drug users residing in Downtown Eastside Vancouver. HC Reoriented funding from the former CDS, new funding under the Strategy
National Native Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program (NNADAP) - Strategy funds are being used to improve treatment services for First Nations and Inuit populations, with a focus on youth and their families. HC Former CDS funding, new funding under the Strategy
Youth Justice Anti-Drug Strategy (YJADS) - Provides funding to develop treatment programs at various stages of the youth justice system to help youth who have drug dependences and are in conflict with the law overcome these dependencies. DOJ New funding under the Strategy to address illicit drug use under the Youth Justice Fund
Drug Treatment Court Funding Program (DTCFP) - Funds drug treatment courts that provide court-monitored treatment and social service support in order to reduce drug use behaviour, enhance social stability of drug-addicted offenders, and contribute to a reduction in criminal recidivism. DOJ Former CDS funding
National Youth Intervention and Diversion Program (NYIDP) - Program to enhance the ability of RCMP officers to channel youth with substance abuse problems into the assessment and treatment process. RCMP New funding under the Strategy
Research on Drug Treatment Models - Funding to support research on the development, improvement, and evaluation of addiction treatments. CIHR New funding under the Strategy

Enforcement Action Plan
Component Department Sources of funding
National Coordination of Efforts to Improve Intelligence, Knowledge Management, Research, and Evaluation - Provides national horizontal policy coordination to improve intelligence, knowledge management, research, and evaluation pertaining to illicit drug issues. PS Former CDS, new funding under the Strategy
Prosecution and Prosecution-related Services - Strategy funds an increase in capacity to deal with incremental prosecution and related workload generated by new RCMP investigative and criminal intelligence officers. ODPP New funding under the Strategy
Office of Controlled Substances (OCS) - Strategy funds an increase in capacity to monitor movement of controlled substances and precursor chemicals to prevent their diversion to the illicit drug market. HC Former CDS, new funding under the Strategy
Drug Analysis Service (DAS) - Strategy funds an increase in capacity to analyze seized materials, provide training to law enforcement officers, aid in investigations of illicit drug operations to ensure they are dismantled in a safe manner, provide expert testimony in court, and authorize the destruction of seized controlled substances. HC Former CDS, new funding under the Strategy
Marijuana and Clandestine Lab Teams/Proceeds of Crime - Strategy funds an increase in capacity of drug enforcement teams to address marijuana grow-ops (MGOs) and clandestine laboratories in areas of drug enforcement, criminal intelligence, technical support, proceeds of crime, liaison officers, and internal services. RCMP Former CDS, new funding under the Strategy
Intelligence Development and Field Support Division, Analysis and Scientific Services - Strategy funds an increase in capacity to address cross-border smuggling of domestic marijuana and trade in other illicit drugs; create new policies in support of the Strategy; and research and deploy new detection technologies to assist CBSA agents in detecting and identifying suspected precursor chemicals. CBSA New funding under the Strategy
Special Enforcement Program - Strategy funds an increase in capacity to perform audits of persons known or suspected of deriving income earned from marijuana and synthetic drug production and distribution operations, and recover tax dollars owing from raised assessments. CRA New funding under the Strategy
Forensic Accounting Management Group (FAMG) - Strategy funds an increase in capacity to participate in and support Integrated Proceeds of Crime investigations and prosecutions related to the production and distribution and possession of illicit drugs, specifically related to MGOs and clandestine laboratories. PWGSC New funding under the Strategy
Financial Intelligence - Strategy funds an increase in capacity to provide financial intelligence that supports law enforcement in investigations and prosecutions of persons who handle money generated by the production and distribution of illicit drugs. FINTRAC New funding under the Strategy
Annual Contributions to UNODC and CICAD - Funds allow Canada to assist financially the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in fulfilling its mandate in the fight against drugs and international crime at the global level; assist financially the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) in fulfilling its mandate in the fight against drugs in the Americas; and enhance Canada's influence internationally. [4] Former CDS

Mandatory Minimum Penalties[5]
Component Department Sources of funding
Prosecutions of Serious Drug Offences under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act ODPP New funding under the Strategy
Case Preparation and Supervision CSC New funding under the Strategy
Conditional Release and Pardon Decisions NPB New funding under the Strategy
Drug Analysis Service HC New funding under the Strategy

Source: RMAF for the National Anti-Drug Strategy

In the longer term (five years or more), the Strategy expects to achieve the following outcomes:

As lead department of this horizontal initiative, the DOJ's roles and responsibilities include overall lead, policy development, coordination among partners, communication, and reporting and evaluation.

The Strategy has a governance structure consisting of an Assistant Deputy Minister Steering Committee and four Director General-level working groups on prevention and treatment, enforcement, policy and performance, and communications. The overall governance structure is supported by the Youth Justice, and Strategic Initiatives and Law Reform section of the DOJ. Table 2 below summarizes the lead and participating departments for each of these groups, as well as their main responsibilities.

Table 2: Governance structure of the National Anti-Drug Strategy
Committee/ working group Chair Departments represented Responsibility
Assistant Deputy Minister Steering Committee DOJ DOJ, HC, PS, RCMP, CSC, ODPP, CBSA, DFAIT, CRA Overall implementation of the Strategy.
Prevention and Treatment Working Group HC HC, PS, DOJ, RCMP, CSC, DFAIT, PHAC Implementation of Prevention and Treatment Action Plans.
Enforcement Working Group PS PS, RCMP, CBSA, CSC, NPB, ODPP, DOJ, HC, DFAIT, CRA, PWGSC, FINTRAC Implementation of Enforcement Action Plan.
Policy and Performance Working Group DOJ DOJ, HC, PS, RCMP, CSC, ODPP, CBSA, DFAIT, PCO, TBS, INAC Oversees development and articulation of policy directions and outcomes for the Strategy and the work of the Subcommittee on Evaluation and Reporting (SER), which is responsible for performance measurement, evaluation, and reporting on the Strategy.
Communications Working Group DOJ DOJ, HC, PS, RCMP, CBSA, CSC, DFAIT, INAC, PCO Communication of the Strategy including making decisions necessary to advance communication of the initiative and ensuring coordination of communication efforts and exchange of information by all partners.

Source: RMAF for the National Anti-Drug Strategy