Crime and Punishment or Treatment and Support

Part V – I’m Ranted out

What is the change I believe would make the difference?

Portugal pioneered the decriminalization of drugs across the board. They have removed the stigma and view users and people with a health problem, not addicts who are a problem. Until 1974 Portugal was under under the rule of an Autocrat. The policies and laws of the land were stringent, arbitrary and often ridiculous.

After the revolution in 1974 the freedom that comes with democracy was knee buckling. The rutter that steered the ship of reason and societal norms. The Roman Catholic church was ill prepared and itself becoming mired in it own scandals. With little credibility and even less authority the church was impotent to fill the void of moral authority left by the fall of the fallen tyrant.

People under autocratic rule for generations expect democracy to to boldly prance in on a white stallion, toss out golden wishes and butterfly dreams. The freedom of democracy hard won from a tyrant is a mirage. To often Democracy stumbles in drunk,high, tattered, whispering sweet, sweet promises into every pretty girls ear. Democracy the red headed step child of freedom, and all too often has Adam Smith’s invisible hand of economics in its back pocket.

Freedom then breezes in with its infomercial on what you get, and you can have, and make all your neighbours jealous as you drive in your brand new McLaren. Eyes glaze over, smiles bright enough to speed up global warming by a decade break across the doe eyed faces of the newly emancipated.

Wait for it – can you hear the thunder? Did the ground just tremor under your feet. Jaws drop, doe eyes and wonder become fear and terror. Yes, Yes there he is with his santa sack filled with fear, sorrow, regret and responsibility. Reality arrives, ham fisted, blind and angry. Unlike Freedom tossing out unicorns promises on candy floss clouds . Reality stomps in elbows out hurling, responsibility, burden, and obstacles at everyone like Krewes throw beads at Mardi Gras. Reality tears off the rose coloured glasses fairness, self determination and freedom handed out with both hands under autocracy.

Democracy is a trojan horse. Most often it is hiding the wormhole chaos and chaos’es vacuum . Without experience, boundaries or a mature and experienced legislative body the people of Portugal struggled. Drug use and abuse skyrocketed, as the golden roads didn’t materialize. I in every hundred people were using Heroine. (https://transformdrugs.org/assets/files/PDFs/Portugal-drugs-decriminalisation-facts.pdf). Aids, Hepatitis and overdose deaths were overwhelming the health care system, courts and jails. Portugal rates of use and abuse outcomes were 6 times as high as other European countries (Ibid).

By 2002 the number were increasing exponentially. The system could take no more. A wise and empathetic person/people recognised that they didn’t have a ephemeral problem that could be punished out of existance. This was not a coup d’etat attempt corroding the fabric of their society. Drugs were not an abstraction, poisoning there democratic Portugal. They had a people problem. They had sick, stressed and struggling people who were normalizing drug use as a stress release for the next generation. Jails and mortuaries were filling with people with problems both mental and physical as a result of their drug use and abuse.

Punishing the result was not going to cure or ebb the problem. The problem kept in the closet would only become more tempting, and continue to multiple. The Unorthodox was proposed and Portugal move drug use from the judicial system to the health care system. Over night carrying and using any drug was no longer a criminal offense. The money that was once spent on enforcement and incarceration was diverted into the Health care and education systems for diversion and harm reduction. Initially their was a reported increase use of drugs. I would suggest that taking away the stigma and punishment aspects simply made people more honest.

The results have made a differnce: See the figure below:

Figure 1.1

Image in benefits we could derive by focusing the 60% dollar reduction in health care costs into harm reduction, education and research. Think about the savings of cutting incarceration the money could be focused on pursing other crimes like property crimes that are often reported but rarely investigated because insurance has the victim covered. Imagine the boost in your personal self worth by being valued, heard, and offered treatment and support. What a difference that would make.

Oregon adopted the Poragula model and after 3 years it was deemed a failure. First of all it took a generation before Portugal recognized results that made heads turn and jaws drop. Not to mention in Portugal it was a national initiative. Pursuing support for your addiction by moving to a State in your own country is easy. Oregon would naturally attract a higher percentage of people want to or having to use drugs. Being a National initiative meant you didn’t have to move you were supported where you were. Citizenship or Visas are much harder to get and a genuine commitment to hours, weeks, and months of paperwork and red tape.

In Portugal it remains illegal to sell drugs, but using them is perfectly acceptable. I would encourage anyone to review further the the Portugal model and think critically about what we have to lose if we try it; vs what we are losing everyday, month and year. We continue to beat this horse with the same stick. I proffe its time to find an new horse, and try kindness not a bigger stick.

August 15, 2025 0

“Be the Change You Want To See In The World”

Part IV¹

How do we change, how do we move the needle on all of this; crime, punishment, rehabilitation, justice?

I certainly don’t have any answers, I do however have some ideas. If after 400 years the Roman Catholic church can review its attitudes regarding the guilt of Galileo and reverse their decision, consider newer knowledge and evidence Perhaps after 200 years with little to no progress and new information perhaps as a civil society that claims to be enlightened, responsive and progressive than the Roman Catholic church we should take a beat and reevaluate some fundamental practices that have failed us repeatedly but we claim are still best practices.

Lets review the cost of incarceration, the social costs and cost in lost productivity attributed to drug use. The costs are staggering, with seemingly little or no progress made. You will notice, however it is not illegal drug sales or use that are the biggest draw on the system. It is the perfectly legal drugs that are the highest drain on government resources. See figure 1 ((https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/publications/healthy-living/canadian-drugs-substances-strateg)

Alcohol and tobacco drain the system at a rate 3 times that of opioids. So why have Opioids, stimulants and miscellaneous other drugs become so vilified? Drug use and abuse is a slippery slope. Most street drugs continue to have legal “big pharma” equivalents and can and are often prescribed to this day. Big pharma handed the fentanyl crisis to the world on a silver platter.

Fig. 1 Costs of substance use and harms in Canada, in billions of dollars

Social cost of substance abuse:

Fig. 2 (https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/publications/healthy-living/canadian-drugs-substances-strateg)

The four substances associated with the largest costs were (in order):

Alcohol: $19.7 billion or 40.1% of the total costs,
Tobacco: $11.2 billion or 22.7% of the total costs,
Opioids: $7.1 billion or 14.4% of the total costs and
Cocaine: $4.2 billion or 8.5% of the total costs.

Pie chart of all costs associated with substance use in Canada in 2020, including $22.4 billion in lost productivity, $13.4 billion in healthcare, $10.0 billion in criminal justice and $3.3 billion in other direct costs.

Roughly 30 billion dollars a year on Alcohol and Tobacco alone

Fig. 3 All cost of drug use in dollars (Ibid)

The costs of substance use were also classified into four categories:

So on one hand if you have a medical degree, a Nurse Practitioner license or have qualified as a prescribing pharmacist you are a government certified drug dealer, Random thought – If you then have more than one practice, or more than one pharmacy are you classified as a legal cartel?

Until quite recently there was very little oversight on how and to whom you wrote the script to. Anecdotally I would postulate that the largest source of street drugs are prescribed to patients and sold to dealers for rent money or groceries. The big problem with opioids comes in when the drugs are pooled and remixed for fun and profit in “independent private labs” outside the realm of the Federally mandated inspection agencies. The same dedication to ensuring active ingredients are evenly distributed are not followed.

Is continuing to take a jackbooted approach to drugs the right path to travel? What happens if recreational drugs of all flavours are dispensed by government certified drug dealers? Produced in inspected labs and labelled, taxed and monitored like alcohol and tobacco?

Many of our laws are antiquated and need a rethink. In jurisdictions where drugs are decriminalized, and de-stigmatized money formally spent on enforcement is funnelled into treatment, awareness , harm reduction and support. Drug crimes do not increase, organised crime and health care costs are reduced because of safe injection sites and safer cleaner drugs mitigate many crises.

Using the figures above and adjusting for street drug decriminalization roughly 32 Billion dollars could be focused on diversion, harm reduction, and education programs.

I know this will sound like I am contradicting my own arguement; but hang in there with me. From 1920 until the end of 1933 the US introduced prohibition. They became, in theory a dry country. Alcohol use had become such a problem abolitionists argued convincingly it was the only solution. Until the early 1900’s public health and safe drinking water were terms that never crossed the minds of legislators. Community water sources including the water source for Washington D.C were slews, breeding grounds for a host of deadly and debilitating diseases, including typhoid, malaria and plague to name but a few. Alcohol was thought to be a cheap and safe alternative. Alcohol was also a cheap and effective preserving agent for sea going vessels. It kept crews, if not productive, at least compliant.

In care facilities or institutions of confinement addiction was actually cultivated. It made residents compliant. Cigarettes were most often used but alcohol was not out of the question. Nurseries would recommend a bit of brandy for a fussy baby. Is it really any wonder alcohols became a problem so large the Federal Government felt the need to step in and address it? They chose to step in on the side of enforcement of ridged and punishing laws around drinking of any kind.

It was the rise in domestic violence, and work related injury that raised the specter of addiction as a public health concern. On the surface Prohibition was a success. Rates of alcoholism are only now starting to approach pre-prohibition levels. However, the social and economic costs were devastating to the US economy. Domestic violence increased, organized crime filled the void for those who still needed to acquire alcohol. Organized crime brought a plethora of its diverse and unique issues such as a dramatic increase in gun crimes, extortion, gambling, human trafficking, et.al. In fact it was organized crime that spawned the founding of the FBI.

The economy utterly collapsed as large manufacturers; not only of alcohol but bottle makers, printers, machinery manufacturers, distributions networks small business who were employers were shut down often overnight. Thousands of jobs were lost. Millions tax dollars lost and millions more spent on enforcement. in The social and health care systems were suddenly overwhelmed as no diversion measures were in place. Cut off from their legal source and supply, people turned to dangerous alternatives such as isopropanol, personal manufacturers and bootleg brew. There was no economic or productivity gain. Certainly over the decade rates of alcohol abuse decreased, and the systema found levels seen. A moral was won certainly. It created a public and economic disaster. Enforcement costs skyrocketed and jails burst to overflowing.

Prohibition created an underground network and economy that continues to thrive by adapting quickly Then giving the people what they want; at outragously inflated prices.

When Marajuana was decriminalized and was allowed to be sold openly and legally crime rates did not spike in fact as seen in figure 4. They have decreased by nearly 40%.

Figure 4 Crime statistics from 2018 – 2022 ( Source: Statistics Canada. Table 35-10-0177-01.)

	2018	2022	percent
	actual incidents
*Criminal Code* violations (excluding traffic)	2,043,328	2,206,454	7.98
Violent Criminal Code violations	426,839	531,243	24.46
Property crimes	1,241,083	1,290,215	3.96
Other Criminal Code violations	375,406	384,996	2.55
Selected violations
Homicide	658	874	32.83
Sexual assault (levels 1 to 3)	28,557	35,965	25.94
Assault (levels 1 to 3)	227,940	276,287	21.21
Breaking and entering	160,329	132,897	-17.11
Motor vehicle theft	86,192	105,673	22.60
Drugs	84,927	52,857	-37.76
Impaired driving	70,832	70,588	-0.34
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 35-10-0177-01.

Initially many were reluctant to support “big marajuana”. They continued to rely on their independent supplier. As people discovered the quality of “ big marajuana was superior and the price was nearly 50% less most smokers migrated to Big Pot. There remains a few independent suppliers offering service, however, their product is becoming increasingly dangerous as it in now often laced with fentanyl and other opioids in an attempt to keep loyal customers.

By decriminalizing street drugs and having them produced and distributed by approved vendors the federal and provincial governments could potentially see 33 billion in cost savings, not to mention the potential for tax revenues. We would be supporting developing nations to transition their illicit economies into part of their national revenue streams increasing their GDP. Which in turn would reduce their enforcement costs, potentially stabilise their governments, and make them less dependent on foreign aid. Another cost savings for developed/ first world countries. A global problem becomes a global solution.

We have really nothing to lose. We have had at least 2 centuries of prohibition and it has not served us. The opioid crisis is real and was created by the medical establishment. It’s time for law enforcement to put its focus on the crimes that occur with more frequency, such as violent crimes and property crimes.

Fundamentally drug use falls under the category of victimless crime. It is an individual making a choice for themselves that theoretically does not elicit the participation of another. No one is being forced to do something against their will. I know I know it affects families and children, so does alcohol and tobacco. Tobacco will involve more victims than drug use. Yet they are legal. Tobacco and alcohol are 65% of the total costs of the “drug crisis” Yet they continue to be openly and legally distributed. I argue it’s time for drugs, all drugs to move from an enforcement issue to a public health issue.

Legalizing marajuana moved the needle in 4 years, what if we took the step and gave this preposterous notion a test drive?

July 12, 2025 0

Justice Part III

As the gap between the haves and the have nots has widened, and the “me” generation has replaced the silent generation as legislators and the intelligentsia. Justice is a privilege of the moneyed not a right of the all. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was entrenched into the Canadian Constitution Act of 1867 in 1982 to ensure that the rights, freedoms and privileges of being Canadian would require a national referendum to be altered and not a simple act of Parliament.¹ One of the fundamental rights under both the Constitution act and the charter reads:

“Equality Rights

“Equality before and under law and equal protection and benefit of law

15 (1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability. “²

Yet we have no national system, fund, or insurance to assure an accused access to appropriate representation. The law and rules of court are so complicated that it is not realistic for an accused to be able to represent themselves, nor would they have the ability to access the full body of specific knowledge of the penal code and precedence to provide themselves with adequate defense. The resources available to the Crown are theoretically limitless. The resources available to the defense are limited to the amount of money they have in the bank; less the amount of money they require to live. Both the Constitution Act and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms are silent on the right to health care; yet all Canadians have equal access to government sponsored health care. Would not equitable access to justice be at a minimum equal to access to health care? While our Justice system offers equal access to justice it is not equitable.

Guilty until proven innocent:

The Charter states:

“Every person is “(d) to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law in a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal;”³

I am sure when drafting the Charter in the 1980’s no one anticipated the collapse of the 5th Estate, and the rise of social media and a primary news network. Journalistic ethics and the ability to manage information to protect both the victim and accused has vanished. Arrests and victims find themselves named and outed, the word allegedly has disappeared utterly from these stories. The more salacious the charges the more media and social media attention an arrest receives. The 24 hour news cycle whips up a frenzy by presenting an arrest as a definitive indication that an individual is guilty.

The Kangaroo Court of public opinion has decided an individual’s guilt or innocence. Based on an arrest, perhaps without investigation, simply an allegation reported, A headline on social media, and the majority opinion at the water cooler. Evidence is not really all that important after all.

Certainly the person accused will have their day in court, the media may or may not continue to report on the story. Their stories will likely be slanted towards villifing the accused. If the accused is found guilty they will be incarcerated for what is likely to be deemed a “light” sentence.

If they are acquitted – it will either not be spoken of in social media, or be qualified as, the Crown lacked evidence. The accused will not be declared Innocent, it will not be a big banner story and the fact that they were charged will remain on their record for the rest of their life.

We all believe where there’s smoke there is fire. Case in point of how this will forever place a scarlet letter on a wrongfully accused individual and leave a trail of trauma far and wide.

A local female hockey coach was accused, by a 17 year old female player, of luring her into an intimate relationship. This relationship is alleged to have gone on for over a year. This coach has been coaching for over 15 years and never has even a whisper of this kind of behavior ever been proffered.

The story lived large on social media for 3 days. Family members had to take down their social media accounts. The woman was arrested at the school where she worked as an aide at the end of the school day. ⁴

Sex crimes and sex crimes against children are indeed heinous, and the public does have a certain right to know to protect their children. That is fair. What right does the accused have? The rest of that story that will be outed at trial is – The family hockey coach has been having a serious affair with the players father, The marriage dissolved in a nasty and public way. The relationship continued and was heading toward marriage. Did the coach offer a hug to her player/ about to be step daughter? Probably. Was there intent to lure. Having known this coach her entire life, no not related, just close family friends. There has NEVER been even the tiniest sign that this was a proclivity.

Based on searches and further evidence even the crown is unsure that there is really any smoke let alone a fire. Her innocents will not be a 3 day news story and only a handful of people will ever know the truth. The parents who witnessed the arrest will never forget and be left with doubts, colleagues and principles and the coaching community will continue to point at the outline of that scarlet letter. Should it continue to court the charge will follow her around forever. Is this not a direct contradiction of this fundamental right to be deemed innocent until proven guilty? When social media stormed the bastion of the ethically bound traditional media? Was it decided that we would dispense with the pillaried and fallible scales and marbled halls of constitutional justice? Should we dispense with lawyer and advocate and replace them with publicists and influencers?

Legal Rights

Life, liberty and security of person

7 Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.⁵

In cases like this it is impossible to find a way to apologise in a way that is as big and dramatic as the way she was accused. It is likely there will be a civil suit, and money will be awarded, nothing however will erase the doubt of the people who saw, read about or worked with this woman. The trauma, the arrest, the fear of going out in public, the ability to return to work, or ever coach again will take years to overcome. The mental health trauma, what would happen if all the bullying and threats are too much and she takes her own life? How then do we compensate her for authorities jumping on the mean girl bandwagon and not further investigating this? How do we unring the bell of public opinion? How do you erase collective memory? How do you turn back the hands of time and honour the covenant that you are innocent until proven guilty?

The court of public opinion is quick to accept the salacious, the scandalous. It embroiders that yellow truth with speculation and nearsighted machinations of their little green monster. They stand on the marble stairs of their glass house confident that no one will ever open their closet of shame or peek under the carpet where their entitled selves have swept their shady shit. Their crusade is to mould their avorious into the next step on the road to becoming the definitive moral authority.

Yes I recognize the irony in this statement. ↩︎
https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const/index.html ↩︎
https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const/index.html ↩︎
Some details have been altered to preserve the dignity of all involved. ↩︎
https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const/index.html ↩︎

July 10, 2025 0

Crime and Punishment – How many pieces of silver does it take to buy justice? -Definitely only part 1

This was going to be my little soapbox piece – it was originally titled reimagining crime and punishment, probably only part one. It has however turned form soapbox to platform; hence we have moved probably to definitely. I welcome considered opinions – and am open to comments. I will not publish attacks, polarized opinions without reasoned suggestions to move the needle in a positive way. I am a firm believer in if you can’t offer a suggestion for change you are part of the problem.

So without further ado part one the introduction to my treatice

What is justice? I remember a time when it seemed black and white, Right was right and wrong was wrong there were no gray areas. Mom was justice , the police were safe people, guardians of our safety and security. The church was our moral authority. The bible written in stone. Courts, judges and lawyers were wise men. Their judgement was beyond reproach. Defense attorneys were sober second thought fact checkers who ensured the whole story was told, and capable of protecting the wrongfully accused. The media gave us the facts. Just the facts. Oh to live in that rose coloured world where bad things only happened to other people. Justice was fair and punishment changed things.

As someone who has had a front row seat to most sides of the farce known as crime and punishment; what is achingly clear is- Justice is for sale to the highest bidder,or the person or corporation with the deepest pockets. It’s cheaper and softer if you are WASPM (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant Man). The wrongly accused or convicted never receive an apology as loud as the accusation, they remain not only tainted but significantly poorer for the fight, traumatized and deeply disillusioned. Reform and rehabilitation are other words code for the home of master classes in how to be bad better. They are Institutions of soul crushing, dehumanization. They strip the incarcerated of their pride, dignity and hope that they can ever be seen as anything but criminal.

Taking a hard and objective look at our system of law, enforcement and rehabilitation leaves one making some unfortunate and over used comparisons to militaristic regimes. Local law enforcement is dressed up and made spectacle to assure the general public they are there to protect the local citizenry. They issue traffic tickets, take the occasional report and are meant to be seen. They are the PR team. Generally they get top marks for being seen. When the rubber hits the road and it comes time to investigate, that is a task above the paygrade of a beat cop, who actually knows the community.

I have had a number of interactions with the legal system, I have never been in jail, I have been wrongfully accused. I have been privy to its ins and outs and manipulations as accused, victim, family, parent, girlfriend, employer, and friend. I know people who work in the system, I know people incarcerated. The system is not designed to help people find their way back

Less than 40% of crimes reported are actually solved the number drops to under 5% when it comes to property crimes our jails are full to overflowing with soldiers in criminal networks dealers, pimps, car thieves, petty thieves, indigenous people, minorities and new immigrants, a handful of murderers and serial killers and of course the innocent. Where are the heads of networks, the Puppet Masters of all the moving people? If our jails are full, why does the crime rate remain fairly steady? Why is the recidivism rate so high? Why are people with the same charges facing such different sentences? Why do our prison populations not mirror our demographics? Why does having more melanin mean you are more likely to be in prison?

July 9, 2025 0

Part IV1

Part IV¹