Criminal Justice and Drugs

How much money was spent on the U.S. War on Drugs over its first 40 years between 1971 and 2010?

$1 trillion (US dollars).

According to Nils Christie and Kettil Bruun, what is the most dangerous type of drug abuse?

The political abuse of drugs.

What key values were envisaged by the 2009 'Blueprint' for addressing non-medical drug supply?

Compassion, pragmatism, and evidence-based interventions focused on public health.

What are contraindications in the context of drugs?

Bad things that happen when you take drugs.

What psychoactive, addictive drug triggers an initial energy release by blocking normal shutoff mechanisms, followed by a hangover effect?

Caffeine.

What serious medical complications can result from the chronic use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)?

76,000 hospitalizations and 7,600 deaths per year in the US due to gastrointestinal ulceration and bleeding.

What percentage of people hospitalized for GI bleeding take NSAIDs?

Fifty to 80 percent.

What percentage of people who use NSAIDs for at least 3 months develop ulcers?

About 15%.

What is the fatality chance for patients who come in with GI bleeding caused by NSAIDs?

A 10% chance of dying.

Between 1998 and 2005, what happened to reports of dangerous side effects and deaths from widely used medicines in the U.S.?

They almost tripled, climbing from 34,966 to 89,842.

What rare vision problem is linked to impotence drugs like Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra?

Nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (sudden and painless loss of vision).

What dangerous medication must women avoid during pregnancy because it causes severe brain, heart, and facial defects?

Accutane.

What condition was Sally treated for with dopamine agonist drugs before developing a mid-life shopping addiction?

Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS).

According to Husak, what is the distinction between acceptable and unacceptable dangers in society?

Acceptable dangers include sky-diving and fast food, whereas unacceptable dangers include certain banned drugs.

Globally, how many deaths were linked to the consumption of sugary drinks and sugar in 2010?

184,000 deaths.

In Canada, how many deaths per year are attributed to sugary drinks?

1,600 deaths.

What percentage of all pregnant women in Nova Scotia are smokers?

25 per cent.

How many total fatalities occurred during the 2014-2015 Quebec snowmobile season, marking a 7-year high?

26 fatalities.

How many people does alcohol abuse kill each year according to the World Health Organization?

2.5 million people.

What percentage of all deaths worldwide are attributable to alcohol according to the U.N.?

Some 4 per cent.

By what percentage has the rate of women dying from causes linked directly to alcohol increased since 2001 in Canada?

26 per cent (compared to a roughly five per cent increase for men).

According to CIHI data from 2015, are there more hospitalizations related to alcohol or heart attacks?

Alcohol (77,000 hospitalizations compared to 75,000 for heart attacks).

What is alcohol ranked among risk factors for cancer and premature mortality?

The second-biggest risk factor for cancer and one of the top-five risk factors for premature mortality.

According to an international Lancet study involving nearly 600,000 people, what is the recommended maximum limit of alcoholic drinks per day for longevity?

No more than one alcoholic drink per day (or two drinks per week for minimal risk according to updated guidelines).

What association exists between drug use and violent crime according to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction?

A strong association between alcohol intoxication and psychopharmacologically induced crime, especially violence.

Which substance categories follow a long way behind alcohol regarding psychopharmacologically induced violence?

Stimulants (cocaine/crack and amphetamines).

What effect do opiates and cannabis typically have on violent impulses and aggression?

They tend to reduce violent impulses and aggression (though withdrawal irritability may increase violence).

What are the three signs exhibited by individuals developing a negative addiction according to Alexander?

Loss of interest in family responsibilities, self-direction/loss of vocational concern, and lack of concern with bodily health.

How many hours per day does a typical person with a negative addiction spend on their pursuit before losing interest in family?

Three to four hours per day.

What was the average IQ loss measured in volunteers distracted by emails, texts, and phone messages in Hewlett Packard trials?

10 points (more than double the four-point mean fall found in studies of cannabis users).

What performance-enhancing ration components (PERCs) do US military troops receive in the field containing caffeine?

Hoo-Ah bars (Army) and Oo-Rah bars (Marines).

According to Dr. Mary Holley, what is reported to be the number one reason people use methamphetamine?

Sex (with an IV hit providing an experience equivalent to 10 orgasms).

At what rate are new psychoactive substances appearing on the EU market according to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA)?

At the rate of one a week.

How many new psychoactive substances was the EMCDDA monitoring at the end of 2020?

Around 830 new psychoactive substances.

What inefficiency is currently involved in synthesizing opioids using genetically engineered brewer's yeast?

It requires 300 litres of yeast to produce a single 30 milligram dose of morphine.

What are the three general categories by which drugs are classified based on how they affect our bodies?

Depressants, hallucinogens, and stimulants.

Which specific drug is noted as appearing in all three general categories of drugs?

Cannabis.

According to a May 2024 Johns Hopkins University study, what proportion of Americans know someone who has died of a drug overdose?

One in three Americans (with 20% saying it was a family member or close friend).

What percentage of adults in the U.S. have an alcohol use disorder, and what percentage have a simultaneous alcohol and drug use disorder?

10% have an alcohol use disorder, and 3% have a simultaneous alcohol and drug use disorder.

Since the toxic drug public health emergency was declared in B.C. in April 2016, how many people have died as a result of toxic drugs?

More than 14,400 people (including at least 126 children and youth).

How many apparent opioid toxicity deaths were reported in Canada between January 2016 and December 2024?

52,544 apparent opioid toxicity deaths.

How many overdose/poisoning patient events did BCEHS paramedics respond to in B.C. in 2024 and 2025 respectively?

40,543 events in 2024 (averaging 111 a day) and 39,592 events in 2025 (averaging 108 a day).

What is the formal definition of prohibition in drug control?

Substances prohibited by criminal law.

What is the formal definition of decriminalization?

Prohibited and still an offence, but not a criminal offence.

What is the formal definition of regulation/legalization?

Not an offence if regulations are followed.

What multiple of the farmgate price of opium does prohibition create in retail heroin value?

322 times the farmgate price (a 32,000% increase in value).

What are the estimated annual revenues generated globally by organized crime from drug smuggling and trafficking according to the UNODC?

More than $120 billion globally (with heroin and cocaine generating $105 billion worldwide).

What is the estimated value of the illicit drug trade annually in Canada at the wholesale and street levels?

More than $4 billion at the wholesale level and $18 billion at the street level.

What percentage of all crime groups in Canada are involved in the illicit drug market according to the Criminal Intelligence Service of Canada?

Approximately 80% of all crime groups.

According to the UNODC World Drug Report, what is the total annual turnover of the syndicates controlling narcotics production and distribution?

$400 billion to $500 billion ($320 billion to $400 billion range).

What is the primary factor that causes the drug trade to be a major source of income for terrorist and organized crime groups?

Prohibition.

What is the primary message of wartime and drug propaganda according to Bruce Alexander?

Information designed to control, not to inform, which systematically reduces people's ability to think intelligently.

How much fentanyl was seized at the U.S. border with Canada versus the U.S. border with Mexico in 2024?

19.5 kg seized at the Canada border compared to 9,593 kg seized at the Mexico border (491 times more at Mexico's border).

What percentage of people sentenced for fentanyl trafficking at the southern U.S. border are U.S. citizens?

More than 80 percent.

According to historical 'crack baby' rhetoric, what was the typical intensive hospital care cost cited for each crack baby?

About $90,000 to $125,000.

What finding did researchers discover regarding terminology like 'substance abuser' versus 'substance use disorder' among health professionals?

Referring to someone as an 'abuser' evokes more punitive attitudes and contributes more to stigma than using 'disorder' terminology.

In 1995, what claim did Liberal MP Paul Szabo make regarding the potency of marijuana compared to 10 years prior?

That marijuana was about 15 times more potent today than 10 years ago, and as potent as cocaine was 10 years prior.

According to an 2018 European study published in Addiction, what happened to THC concentrations in herbal cannabis and cannabis resin between 2006 and 2016?

Herbal cannabis THC concentrations increased from 5% to 10%, and cannabis resin increased rapidly from 10% to 17%.

What Edmonton magistrate cited the Los Angeles police chief in 1922 to claim cannabis users become 'raving maniacs'?

Emily Murphy (in The Black Candle).

What did the UK parliamentary science and technology select committee conclude about government use of scientific evidence in drug policy?

Scientific evidence was often misused or distorted to justify policy decisions based on ideological or social grounds, making drug policy an 'evidence-free zone'.

According to the Canadian Cancer Society, what is the leading preventable cause of premature deaths in Canada claiming about 37,000 lives each year?

Tobacco.

How many deaths have been directly attributed to cannabis use or overdose according to Dr. Tim Stockwell?

Zero deaths.

What short title was added to Bill S-10 (mandatory minimum penalties for drug offences) when introduced on May 5, 2010?

Penalties for Organized Drug Crime Act (later enacted under the Safe Streets and Communities Act in 2012).

What historical allegations have governments made regarding drugs as a tool of conquest?

Claims that cocaine/heroin were German weapons, opium was used by other races to conquer the world, and communist nations shipped drugs to destroy Western democracy.

What percentage of crystal meth users were claimed by a school police briefing to be addicted upon first usage?

Over 80 per cent.

What extreme statements did former Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates and Nancy Reagan make about casual drug users?

Gates stated casual users ought to be taken out and shot, and Reagan stated casual users are accomplices to murder.

What financial scale of free advertising was devoted to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America in 1990?

$1 million per day in free advertising.

What punishment did former US drug policy director William Bennett suggest would be 'morally plausible' for convicted drug dealers?

Beheading or tearing them limb from limb.

What violation did the Government Accountability Office (GAO) find regarding White House anti-drug video news releases produced between 2002 and 2004?

They violated the legal prohibition on 'covert propaganda' by reaching over 22 million households without disclosing they were produced by the government.

What is multitasking characterized as by research findings in the criminal justice materials?

Rapidly switching attention between different foci while incurring cognitive costs and reducing performance.

What are the three components of Canada's current drug laws and policies studied in the course?

Origins of Canada's drug laws, benefits and harms associated with current laws, and possible alternative laws and policies.

What percentage of people hospitalized for GI bleeding take NSAIDs according to medical data in the text?

Fifty to 80 percent.

What finding did Johns Hopkins University report regarding substance use disorders in the US?

Nearly one in three people at any given time have a substance use or mental health disorder.

What percentage of crime groups in Canada are involved in the illicit drug market?

Approximately 80%.

What proportion of US border fentanyl seizures occurred at the Canadian border compared to the Mexican border in recent statistics?

A tiny fraction (e.g., 0.2 percent or 491 to 11,000 times less than at the Mexico border).

What is the primary source of income for international organized crime groups and terrorists according to intelligence reports?

Drug trafficking.

What common painkiller was found to be the most commonly used drug in intentional overdoses among Canadian young people?

Acetaminophen (Tylenol).

What drug is cited as the second-biggest risk factor for cancer and a top-five risk factor for premature mortality?

Alcohol.

What term describes deliberate or misleading misuse of language such as 'drug-related crime' or 'associated with'?

'Weasel' words.

What historical figure's maxim states that if you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually believe it?

Paul Joseph Goebbels.

What percentage increase in U.S. drug overdose deaths occurred between the 12-month period ending April 2020 and April 2021?

An increase of 28.5% (reaching over 100,000 deaths).

What psychoactive drug's global deaths reached 2.5 million annually according to WHO reports?

Alcohol.

What are the primary reasons people use drugs according to sociological and psychological course materials?

Pleasure, peer pressure, risk-taking, challenging authority, adapting to environment (pain, mental illness, trauma), and social awkwardness.

What proportion of US adults have an alcohol use disorder according to Matthew Eisenberg of Johns Hopkins?

10% of adults in the US.

What are the primary physical effects of depressants on the central nervous system?

They slow down the function of the central nervous system.

What are the primary physical effects of stimulants on the central nervous system?

They speed up the function of the central nervous system.

What do hallucinogens primarily affect in the human body?

They affect the senses and change the way you see, hear, taste, smell, or feel things.

What percentage of opioid-related overdose deaths increased in Ottawa during 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic?

A near-doubling (123 deaths in 2020 compared to 65 deaths in 2019).

What did Global Drug Survey results indicate regarding party drug usage (ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine) during COVID-19 lockdowns?

Usage dropped significantly (ecstasy down 41%, cocaine down 38%, ketamine down 34%) due to the disappearance of nightclubs and festivals.

What percentage of Canadian young adults reported consuming no more or even less alcohol prior to or during COVID-19 according to Red Cross studies?

66 per cent.

What is identified as the leading cause of relapse to alcohol, drug abuse, and smoking?

Stress and trauma (with trauma putting individuals at 4 to 5 times greater risk of substance abuse).

What specific consequence does exposure to traumatic brain injury (TBI) have on teenagers regarding substance use?

Teens with a concussion or TBI history report using alcohol, non-prescribed tranquilizers, opioids, and illicit drugs at rates two to four times higher than peers.

What conclusion did Bruce Alexander and Gabor Maté draw regarding the root cause of destructive drug use?

Social pathology causes destructive forms of drug use, and there is no good evidence that drugs cause social pathology.

According to Alexander at 17, what is the relationship between social pathology and drug use?

There is good evidence that social pathology causes destructive forms of drug use, but no good evidence that drugs cause social pathology.

What post-2001 and pandemic-related examples are cited as increases in drug use driven by social stress?

Post-September 11 increase, drug use in conflict zones, drug use and mental illness, homelessness, and the impact of COVID-19 stresses.

What are the three general observations regarding society's inconsistent choices in dealing with potential harms?

Inconsistent choice of means for psychoactive substances; inconsistent regulation of risky activities (exercise, eating, video games); and drugs making non-users act irrationally.

What did Harvard medical professor Lester Grinspoon observe about illicit drugs in 1967?

Illicit drugs do not always make the user behave irrationally, but they certainly cause many non-users to behave that way.

What categories of drugs can cause both fatal and non-fatal overdoses?

Illegal drugs, legal drugs diverted to the illegal market, and legally prescribed or OTC drugs used legally or intentionally.

According to Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) data, how did intentional overdoses among Canadian youth change over the last decade?

Cases roughly doubled for children and teenagers in Alberta and Ontario in categories including OTC painkillers and prescription antidepressants and sedatives.

In the Ontario study on youth intentional overdoses, which drugs were most commonly used?

Acetaminophen (Tylenol) was most common, followed by antidepressants and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (Advil).