Recreational drug use is defined as the consumption of narcotics to have a altered state of mind, usually to create a positive atmosphere (White 2012). In Canada the judicial opinion on recreational drug use is that it is illegal. In the cases of R.v Malmo-Levine and R.v Caine have challenged the constitutionality of the criminalization of recreational drugs. R.v Malmo-Levine ran an organization that attempted to reduce the harm associated with marijuana, police raided his club and he was charged with the possession of marijuana and for trafficking. R.v Caine was caught with marijuana in his car and was also charged for the possession of marijuana(Dyzenhause et al 2007). In the case of R.v Malmo-Levine and R.v Caine have argued the criminalization …show more content…
The use of these drugs can become crippling for users it can start to affect how they function in society, which in turn can make them unstable or dangerous to society. Which then contradicts the Harm principle. Families of these drug users are affected it can lead turmoil for families. However, the criminalization's of drug use does not necessarily help the users with their addiction rather they are thrown into jail to battle their addiction on their own. Canada has been reported to join countries like China, Egypt, Iran and more opposing on Europe's approach to harm reduction for drug users (Webster, 2014). Yet it's been proven that countries that actively implement harm reduction rather than criminalizing recreational drugs have had lower rates of drug abuse. Countries like Switzerland who implemented harm reduction found in 12 years ( 1990-2002), the number of new heroin users fell by 82 percent while the overall population of users was down four percent (Mallea, 2014). Portugal is the first European country that abolished all crime penalties on persons who use drugs (Szalavitz, 2009) They replaced jail time with therapy for those battling drug addictions, their results for this decriminalization was five years after the law was passed illegal drug use among teens dropped, HIV infections from sharing infected needles …show more content…
In Ontario, aboriginal boys aged 12 to 17 make up 2.9 percent of the young male population. However in Ontario youth facilities they make up nearly 15 percent of young male admissions ( Rankin 2013). In Ontario black boys are more likely to go to jail four times higher compared to white boys where there isn't such an overrepresentation ( Rankin 2013). Toronto criminal lawyer Ried Rusonik highlights the racial disparities in our sentencing system he states;
Black people go to jail for possessing and selling crack cocaine. White people who sell and use cocaine powder rarely do," he says. White people get all of the discharges and conditional sentences for illegal possession of firearms; black people go to jail. Name any essentially similar offense and the case law always seems to find it more serious when a black man commits it. ( Rankin