Bill C-475 (Historical)

An Act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (methamphetamine and ecstasy)

This enactment amends the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to prohibit a person from possessing, producing, selling or importing anything knowing it will be used to produce or traffic in methamphetamine or ecstasy.

CONTROLLED DRUGS AND SUBSTANCES ACT

[Joy Smith, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Madam Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking my hon. friend, the member for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country. I am fully aware of his deep concern for the problems that methamphetamine and ecstasy inflict on Canadians. I commend him for drawing the attention of the House through his private member's bill to the complex difficulty caused by these drugs.

Unlike other better known drugs of abuse, such as heroin, cocaine or marijuana, crystal meth and ecstasy present some unique challenges. Both are synthetic drugs. They are not dependent on the cultivation of a crop. Their production requires no specialized skill or training. The precursor chemicals needed to produce these drugs are relatively easy to obtain and inexpensive to purchase. These factors make their production attractive to both the criminal trafficker and to the addicted user.

I will focus most of my comments on methamphetamine, but many of my observations also apply to ecstasy.

Crystal meth presents a threat to law enforcement authorities. Peace officers must combat both small toxic labs as well as super labs, which are primarily controlled by drug trafficking organizations.

The small labs produce relatively small amounts of methamphetamine and are generally not affiliated with major trafficking organizations. A number of factors have served as catalysts for the spread of small labs, including the presence of recipes easily accessible over the Internet. Indeed, widespread use of the Internet has facilitated the dissemination of technology used to manufacture methamphetamine in small labs. This form of information sharing allows wide dissemination of these techniques to anyone with Internet access.

Aside from marijuana, crystal meth is the only widely abused illegal drug that is capable of easily being produced by the abuser. Given the relative ease with which manufacturer cooks are able to acquire recipes and ingredients, and the unsophisticated nature of the production process, it is easy to see why this highly addictive drug is spreading.

Other factors which serve to spread the use of small labs include the availability of the ingredients needed to produce crystal meth. The ingredients are available in many over-the-counter cold medications and common household products found at retail stores. These items include rock salt, battery acid, red phosphorus road flares, pool acid and iodine crystals which can be used as sources of the necessary chemicals. They also include relatively common items such as mason jars, coffee filters, hot plates, pressure cookers, pillowcases, plastic tubing, gas cans and the like, which a clandestine lab operator can use in the manufacturing process for crystal meth.

Crystal meth use, production and distribution is regulated under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, CDSA. Production, possession, trafficking for the purpose of trafficking and/or exportation, and importation and/or exportation, with certain exceptions, are illegal in Canada.

Law enforcement efforts to combat the methamphetamine phenomenon have been aided by two recent initiatives. Until 2005, crystal meth was listed under schedule III of the CDSA, a schedule that carries a lower level of maximum penalties for possession, trafficking, production, importing and exporting, from three to seven years. In August 2005, crystal meth was moved to schedule I of the CDSA. Under this schedule the maximum penalty for possession is seven years, while life imprisonment could be sought for trafficking, producing, importing and/or exporting, or possession for the purpose of export.

Precursors used in the manufacture of crystal meth are also controlled by the CDSA and the precursor control regulations. These regulations, which came into effect in 2003, gave tools to monitor and control the sale and/or provision, import, export, production and packaging of precursors frequently used in the production of illicit drugs.

As it currently exists, only licensed dealers may sell class A precursors, such as ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, except in small amounts in pharmaceutical products. A person found guilty of importing, exporting, or possession for the purpose of export without the proper authorization is liable to 10 years' imprisonment for an indictable offence, or 18 months' imprisonment upon summary conviction.

More recently, the precursor control regulations were amended to list red and white phosphorus along with other substances as class A precursors. As a result of this change, a licence is required to sell or produce red phosphorus with permits required to import the precursor into the country.

Crystal meth can cause serious health problems because it is powerfully addictive to those who use it and because it can cause harm even to those who are not involved in its use or distribution. Crystal meth both changes and damages the brain. Meth abuse can result in serious behavioural troubles, psychotic symptoms and dangerous medical complications, such as cardiovascular problems, strokes and even death. Crystal meth addiction is a chronic relapsing disease that is notoriously difficult to treat.

Dangers to health are not limited to those who use the drug. Those who suffer from the second-hand effects of crystal meth include victims of methamphetamine-related crimes: innocent children whose homes have been turned into clandestine lab sites; law enforcement officers and other first responders who work with the hazardous materials found at lab sites; and the environment, from the five to six pounds of toxic waste produced for every pound of crystal meth cooked.

The manufacture and use of crystal meth are not problems confined to Canada but ones that have spread to many regions of the world. In fact, the International Narcotics Control Board, INCB, noted in its 2005 report, “Precursors and Chemicals Frequently Used in the Illicit Manufacture of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances”, that the illicit manufacture of crystal meth is spreading throughout the world at an alarming rate.

Globally, the number of users of amphetamine-type stimulants, a majority of which use crystal meth, outnumber cocaine and heroin users combined. There is an estimated 26.2 million amphetamine-type stimulant users in the world compared to an estimated 13.7 million cocaine users and 10.6 million heroin users.

Specifically, the INCB indicated that the illicit manufacture of amphetamine-type stimulants and crystal meth in particular is spreading in North America and Southeast Asia, but also increasingly to other areas such as Africa, eastern Europe and Oceania. The report further stated that the spread of crystal meth is due to the simple manufacturing process and the availability of the required precursors.

I believe that international co-operation is an important element in combatting methamphetamine or what we know as crystal meth. Some of the most significant and successful international efforts to combat crystal meth have involved a series of enforcement initiatives worked jointly between law enforcement in Canada and the U.S. from the late 1990s to 2003. These enforcement initiatives were principally responsible for the significant reduction in the amount of pseudoephedrine entering the United States for use in Mexican-controlled super labs.

The hon. member has proposed a bill which extends the operation of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. This bill would prohibit the production, possession and sale of any substance, equipment or other material that is intended for use in production of or trafficking in methamphetamine and ecstasy.

I want to conclude by stating that I commend the intentions of the member for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country and support the bill's principle of curbing the production and trafficking of crystal meth and ecstasy. These are very dangerous drugs and something drastic has to be done to prevent their sale and the second-hand effects on innocent people.

[Bill Siksay, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have this opportunity to participate in the debate on Bill C-475, An Act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (methamphetamine and ecstasy), which stands in the name of the member for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country. I also want to express my appreciation for his putting this bill forward and giving us the opportunity to debate drug policy once again here in the House of Commons.

Let me say at the outset that New Democrats will be supporting this bill to get it to committee where it can be carefully examined once again. I say that even though I do have concerns about this legislation and the kind of direction it espouses and supports.

I do have very serious concerns about the criminal justice model of dealing with drugs in our society. I believe it has been a colossal failure, frankly. We need to be moving to a health issue model of dealing with drug use in our society. There are a lot of examples of how the criminal justice model has failed us. It has failed to deal with the problems of drug use in our society. It has failed to find any major improvement in that situation over many years of dealing with it.

The parallels to alcohol prohibition are absolutely clear when we consider drug prohibition in our society. I have spoken at length about that in the House on previous occasions. When we take a careful look at alcohol prohibition and compare that to drug prohibition, we are going to see an exact parallel in terms of the kinds of social problems that were evident, especially in the United States during the period of alcohol prohibition.

Those problems have an exact parallel to the experience we have today under drug prohibition. Very basic things like grow ops in homes and the problems they cause to housing, the problems they cause to neighbourhoods were very evident in the 1920s during alcohol prohibition in the United States. People had illegal stills all over the place and caused serious problems, including fires when the stills exploded. The family dislocation for a crime that was considered illegal and, therefore, underground was very similar in the 1920s as it is today around drug prohibition and the stigma that goes along with drug use. They are things like the activities of organized crime. They are infamous. There are many stories about the organized crime activities related to alcohol in the period of alcohol prohibition in the United States, which have an exact parallel to the illegal drug activities that we see in our society today.

We have to carefully examine that. We have to look to the example that we have established with the policies on alcohol restriction, that we allow its use in our society and apply that to what we know about drugs. Indeed, other jurisdictions have done that already. Portugal is an excellent example of significant change and improvement in this area.

It is interesting that we are having this debate today because this afternoon I was able to meet with students who are visiting members of Parliament here on the Hill about the whole issue of drug policy. I met with two representatives of Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy. That is a national grassroots organization composed of student groups at secondary and post-secondary schools across Canada. The various chapters of Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy are encouraged to mobilize around drug-related issues that are important to their members and their communities. Their projects range from open peer drug and alcohol education, to public awareness campaigns, to lobbying MPs, as they were doing today. They were lobbying MPs for smart, sustainable, viable drug policies.

There is a chapter of Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy at Simon Fraser University in my constituency of Burnaby—Douglas.

One of the things the folks from Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy were asking today is whether I, as an MP, was ready for Canada to move toward honest and non-judgmental youth drug education. I was able to answer that with a resounding “yes”. They are doing an anonymous survey. They are keeping tally of what MPs told them. I am proud to go public and say that I do support the goals of their campaign around this and that I believe that honest and non-judgmental drug education is something that is absolutely crucial for youth in Canada.

When they talk about drug education and the kind of education and information that youth and young people need in Canada, they break it down into a number of categories. I want to go through some of the documentation they have provided to show what another vision of moving toward a better situation with regard to drug use in our society might look like. They break down three categories in drug education. They talk about the need for honesty, the need for prevention and the need for a non-judgemental approach.

With regard to honesty, there are a number of side issues that they think should be covered. They believe it is important to talk about drugs as a serious issue, but they also believe we should do it in a way that does not exaggerate the negative effects that drugs and alcohol can have on an individual family or community. They believe young people, especially those with any experience of drug use, are aware of this because of their experience and intimate knowledge of that. However, they believe it is very important to create an honest, respectful dialogue so young people are given the opportunity to discuss these issues with their peers.

In terms of honesty, they also believe we need to make it clear that drugs are a part of life. It is undeniable. We use drugs in all kinds of different situations. It is not just illicit drugs in this case, but many other kinds of drugs are used freely and appropriately in our society. There is an important aspect of recognizing that. This is not about promoting drug use; it is a recognition of their place in our lives and in our society.

They believe it is important to point out that illegal drugs are not always dangerous and that legal drugs are not always safe. We know there is much abuse of prescription drugs and there is often much misunderstanding about the effects of these drugs. They believe this needs to be part of the conversation about drug use. It cannot always be on the one side around so-called illicit drugs. We need a broader appreciation of legal drugs that are available and used in our society.

They also say we should talk about use and abuse not being the same thing. Young people know, in any conversation about drug use, from their experience of how we use drugs and alcohol in our society, that there are ways to use them appropriately and ways to use them inappropriately. They know there is a difference between having a glass of wine at dinner and having a glass of wine at breakfast. They see adults and others making those kinds of decisions all the time and that approach needs to be part of the kind of conversation we have drug education.

With regard to prevention, they have a number of points in that general area as well. They point out that not using drugs is the only way to completely avoid the risk of drugs. Abstaining from drug use is the best way to avoid the individual risks of each substance and this has to be a key part of any discussion. We do not want to avoid talking about that.

We also need to talk honestly about preventing problematic drug use. We have to recognize that often young people will do risky things whether we want them to or not, but we have to find a way to engage those young people who already take those kinds of risks. As part of that, harm reduction needs to be part of the conversation. We have to ensure that young people who make those choices know how to reduce the harm that they do, having made that decision. This does not necessarily mean encouraging the use of drugs. It means ensuring young people who make those choices have appropriate information. A lot of good work has been done in the whole area of harm reduction to make it very clear why this is a very effective strategy.

They also want to talk about delaying first use. For youth who think of using drugs, they believe it is important that drug education stress the importance of delaying first use in a non-judgmental fashion. If people make those decisions, they need to make them at a point in their life when they have the information at their fingertips and the background they need to make those kinds of decisions.

Finally, in their category of non-judgmental approach, they point out some things that should be fairly obvious to us. They point out that drug use is not a moral failing. They point out the need for inclusive and respective dialogue. They point out the need for creating stronger peer groups. They say we keep safer sex, why not safer drug use.

There is a great approach here and I would hope we might pay more attention to this alternative approach to dealing with substance use in our society.

[John Weston, Conservative, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

Madam Speaker, Bill C-475 is about stopping the growing problem of crystal meth and ecstasy, two types of methamphetamines found all too frequently in Canada. The approach of this bill is to make a new criminal offence for those who procure the precursors of crystal meth or ecstasy with the intent to manufacture these drugs.

As the member for Kildonan—St. Paul has just so eloquently stated, these two drugs are highly toxic and addictive substances against which many informed people and agencies have railed, including several members of the House.

I thank my colleague, the member for Peace River, for introducing the original version of this bill in a previous session of Parliament. The bill attempts to attack the problem at its source, dealing directly with the precursors of these drugs.

I also thank the member for Marc-Aurèle-Fortin for his comments in the first hour of debate regarding the various substances that these drugs contain. As he stated, these include the primary ingredients of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, which are commonly found in the over-the-counter cold medications. They also include products not certified for human consumption, including acetone, rubbing alcohol, iodine and other common items. The member's comments highlighted the ease with which criminals could find the ingredients needed to create these products.

I am proud to be a member of a government that has passed laws to reduce crime in Canada. We are not working for criminals but for the majority of Canadians who are law-abiding citizens.

In the previous debate of this bill, the member for Elmwood—Transcona expressed some concerns about pill compression machines. I have since discovered that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration regularly informs Canadian authorities of U.S. exports of pill compression machines to Canada. This American regulation, which does not have a Canadian equivalent, somewhat limits the illegal sale of the drugs we are discussing today.

The United States-Canada Border Drug Threat Assessment 2007, an analysis published jointly by the Canadian and U.S. governments, also notes that effective U.S. legislation restricting the purchase of precursor chemicals has been successful in cutting back cross-border smuggling of methamphetamines.

We need the provisions of this bill not only to allay the fears of our biggest trading partner, but more important to protect our families and our children.

Our research has uncovered many anecdotes about Canadians whose lives have been ruined by methamphetamines. One women from the riding I represent, whom we will call Helen, a 34-year-old recovering ecstasy addict, tells us that she has been fighting her addiction for 15 years. This disease has taken many things from her, she says, such as her self-respect, her motivation and the ability to live a normal and fulfilling life. She confides that ecstasy has damaged her body and her mind forever. She has experienced severe psychoses, spent time on the street, been in abusive relationships and has done whatever was necessary to get the drugs she craved.

Helen tells us that one of the major problems is the ready availability of crystal meth and ecstasy. As we have heard in the House today and in previous testimony, the products needed to make these drugs are found at any big-box store or family hardware shop. Helen tells us there needs to be some kind of law regarding the distribution of the ingredients. She concludes, “We need help from our government to stop the selling of chemicals to the common person”.

I stand in the House proudly to say that members of all parties are ready to answer Helen's call.

Outside the House, the list of supporters of this bill is growing too. Supporters include the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the B.C. Association of Police Chiefs, the Crystal Meth Society of BC, the town of Gibsons, the city of Powell River, the district of Squamish, the municipality of Bowen Island, the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District and several other groups.

I thank my colleagues in the House, members of all parties, for their support of the bill. By their support, they join me in denouncing the scourge of crystal meth and ecstasy drugs.

[The Acting Speaker, Denise Savoie]

The question is on the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

No.

[The Acting Speaker, Denise Savoie]

All those in favour of the motion will please say yea.

[Some hon. members]

Yea.

[The Acting Speaker, Denise Savoie]

All those opposed will please say nay.

[Some hon. members]

Nay.

[The Acting Speaker, Denise Savoie]

In my opinion the yeas have it.

And five or more members having risen:

Pursuant to Standing Order 93, the recorded division stands deferred until Wednesday, April 14, immediately before the time provided for private members' business.

[Rick Casson, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I believe if you were to seek it, you would find unanimous consent to see the clock at 6:30 p.m.

[The Acting Speaker, Denise Savoie]

Is it agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

The House resumed from April 13 consideration of the motion that Bill C-475, An Act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (methamphetamine and ecstasy), be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Controlled Drugs and Substances Act

[The Speaker, Peter Milliken]

The House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at second reading stage of Bill C-475 under private members' business.