Evaluation of the National Anti-Drug Strategy

1. Introduction

The purpose of the evaluation was to assess the relevance and performance of the National Anti-Drug Strategy (NADS) from April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2016. The evaluation was conducted in accordance with the Treasury Board of Canada Policy on Evaluation (2009).

NADS is a horizontal initiative of 13 federal departments and agencies, led by Justice Canada, and including Health Canada (HC), Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Public Safety Canada (PS), Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Correctional Service Canada (CSC), Parole Board of Canada (PBC), Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), Global Affairs Canada (GAC), Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), and Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC). NADS was launched in 2007 to improve Canada’s response to the complex issues of illicit drug use and prescription drug abuse (PDA) organized according to three action plans: Prevention, Treatment and Enforcement.

The objectives of the Strategy are to: reduce risk-taking behaviours related to illicit drugs and PDA, particularly among youth; address critical treatment gaps in targeted populations and areas of need; enhance the federal enforcement capacity to disrupt illicit drug production and distribution, and reduce health, safety and security risks associated with the production of illicit drugs; and, under the expanded mandate, reduce risks associated with prescription drugs diverted for misuse. The Strategy’s action plans are expected to contribute to a reduction in the supply of and demand for illicit drugs, in PDA, in the negative health and social impacts and crime related to illicit drug use and PDA, and ultimately to safer and healthier communities.

The Strategy components have evolved during the period covered by the evaluation, as in the case of relatively new PDA initiatives with longer implementation horizons. These variations in funding and other changes to the Strategy have been considered in developing the methodological approach for this evaluation. For instance:

This report provides a brief description of the Strategy’s intended outcomes, followed by an overview of the evaluation’s scope, approach and design. This includes a description of the different approaches (e.g., document review, key informant interviews) used to compile evidence. The evaluation findings are organized by issues of relevance, effectiveness in achieving the expected outcomes, and efficiency. Based on the documented findings, the report provides a series of conclusions.

NADS Logic Model

The ultimate expected outcome for the NADS Strategy is to have safer and healthier communities.

The federal departments and agencies are responsible for a number of activities contributing towards the achievement of this ultimate outcome. The connection between the Strategy activities and the expected outcomes is depicted in the NADS Logic Model (see Appendix 1). It represents the consensus among all federal partners as to the key elements, linkages, and shared strategic outcomes for the Strategy. As such, it illustrates how the Strategy’s three action plans (Prevention, Treatment and Enforcement) are expected to lead, influence or contribute to the achievement of the outcomes.

1.1. Prevention Action Plan

The following departments and agencies are contributing to the Prevention Action Plan in the following ways:

Health Canada (HC) chairs the Prevention and Treatment Working Group. Through the Anti-Drug Strategy Initiative (ADSI)Footnote 3, HC supports prevention and treatment initiatives for both illicit and prescription drugs. As of 2014-15, HC is also responsible for implementing a five-year PDA campaign to raise awareness about the harms and risks associated with PDA among parents and youth, and to educate Canadians on the importance of safely storing, monitoring and discarding prescription drugs in order to prevent diversion and misuse.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Federal Policing Public Engagement (FPPE) (formerly Drugs and Organized Crime Awareness Service) supports various initiatives across Canada aimed at enhancing public awareness of the nature, extent and consequences of substance use and abuse.

1.2. Treatment Action Plan

The following departments and agencies are contributing to the Treatment Action Plan in the following ways:

As mentioned above, HC chairs the Prevention and Treatment Working Group and through the ADSI, supports prevention and treatment initiatives for both illicit and prescription drugs. HC’s First Nations and Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB) funds the Mental Wellness Program, and is using Strategy funding to improve the quality, accessibility and effectiveness of treatment services for First Nations and Inuit populations with focuses on the individual, family and community.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) supports research on the development, improvement and evaluation of addiction treatments to improve the state of knowledge and understanding of the consequences of illicit and prescription drug use and misuse.

The Department of Justice Canada funds through the Youth Justice Fund – Drug Treatment component pilot treatment opportunities designed to help youth in the justice system with their rehabilitation. Justice Canada’s Drug Treatment Court Funding Program (DTCFP) provides financial support to six Drug Treatment Court (DTC) pilot projects to offer court-monitored treatment and social service supports that reduce use of illicit drugs, enhance social stability of drug-dependent offenders, and help break the cycle of drug use and crime. Through the DTCFP, dedicated treatment resources are available to drug-dependent offenders that would otherwise not be available to this high-needs cohort.

The RCMP provided its front-line employees with tools and training to consider alternatives to charging youth and to refer at-risk youth to community and treatment programs. Funding for this component was phased out in March 2012.

1.3 Enforcement Action Plan

The following departments and agencies are contributing to the Enforcement Action Plan in the following ways:

Public Safety Canada chairs the Enforcement Action Plan Working Group and provides national horizontal policy coordination to improve intelligence, knowledge management, research and evaluation pertaining to illicit drug issues.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions provides legal advice and prosecution services in the context of investigative and criminal intelligence work conducted by law enforcement agencies.

Health Canada provides services through the Office of Controlled Substances (OCS) and the Drug Analysis Service (DAS). The OCS works to ensure that drugs and controlled substances are not diverted for illegal use through the development of legislation, regulations, policies and operations that support the control of illicit drugs and other substances. The Regulatory Operations and Regions Branch conducts compliance and monitoring activities to enforce the regulations in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act; and the DAS within the Branch analyzes seized materials, provides training and knowledge on illicit drugs and precursor chemicals to law enforcement officers, aids in the investigations of illicit drug operations in order to ensure they are dismantled in a safe manner, and provides expert testimony in court.

The NADS funding helps increase the RCMP’s capacity to proactively target organized crime involvement in illicit drug production and distribution operations. In addition, the RCMP manages the Drug Recognition Expert program, which provides training for police officers to identify drug-impaired persons, usually focusing on drivers.

The Canada Border Services Agency isresponsible for the following: addressing cross-border smuggling and trade in illicit drugs; creating new policies in support of the Strategy; researching new analytical techniques; and deploying new detection technologies to assist its officers in detecting and identifying suspected precursor chemicals.

The Canada Revenue Agency performs audits of persons known or suspected of deriving income earned from illicit drug production and distribution operations, and recovers tax dollars owing from raised assessments.

Public Services and Procurement Canada, through the Forensic Accounting Management Group (FAMG), participates in and supports the Integrated Proceeds of Crime Initiative investigations and prosecutions for the production, distribution and possession of illicit drugs specifically related to Marihuana Grow Operations (Grow-Ops) (MGOs) and clandestine laboratories (clanlabs).

The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada is responsible for producing financial intelligence that supports law enforcement in investigations and prosecutions of persons who handle money generated by the production and distribution of illicit drugs.

Global Affairs Canada provides policy coordination on the implementation of the international drug conventions and multilateral processes that involve organizations such as the United Nations, the Organization of American States (OAS), the Paris Pact, the Dublin Group, the Group of 7, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe governments, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. GAC also has an active role in furthering cooperation with bilateral partners. Through contribution funding, it addresses the international dimensions related to illicit drug issues, including, for example, working with the OAS – Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) in collaboration with HC, Justice and PS to: provide law enforcement officials with the knowledge and skills related to investigative and interdiction techniques (topics include synthetic drug production, intelligence development, search and seizures, case management, investigations and undercover operations); support the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism in evaluating international substance misuse programs; and provide training to health officials on community prevention programs.

The Correctional Service Canada manages and supervises provincial offenders in regions where there are no provincial parole boards, and is responsible for case preparation and supervision of provincial offenders under the Safe Streets and Communities Act (2012).

The Parole Board of Canada reviews cases and makes decisions regarding provincial offenders’ conditional release in regions where there are no provincial parole boards, including those pertaining to the Safe Streets and Communities Act (2012).

Immediate Outcomes

Prevention Action Plan
Treatment Action Plan
Enforcement Action Plan

Intermediate Outcomes

Prevention Action Plan
Treatment Action Plan
Enforcement Action Plan

Long-term Outcomes

The evaluation assessed the degree to which the immediate and intermediate outcomes were being achieved over the evaluation timeframe.