Ep 3 Drug Laws

Karen and Alex welcome special guest Brittany Stockley (advocate for mental health and addiction treatment, who has been in active recovery/sobriety for 9+ years) to discuss how the laws surrounding drugs and controlled substances have evolved over time, and how those laws affect Canadians. You can find her on her socials @heartwoodandhomestudio

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Cases Discussed:

Rob Ford’s drug use while in Office: Ontario, 2014| Thomas Hartle’s Denial to Continue Psilocin Trial by Health Canada: Saskatchewan, 2021| Summerside Meth Lab: PEI, 2016 | Toronto Drug Cop Charged with Drug Crimes: Ontario, 2024 | Project Lowkey: Alberta, 2024 | Charged Laid for Noncontrolled Substance Possession: Alberta, 2022

We finish the episode with Brittany telling us about her own journey through addiction, sobriety and her experiences with the legal system.

 

Sources:

• Controlled Drugs and Substances Act https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-38.8/page-9.html

• The National Drug Schedules (NDS) https://www.napra.ca/national-drug-schedules/what-are-the-national-drug-schedules/

• Understanding Schedule 1 Drugs in Canada https://karapancevlaw.ca/understanding-schedule-1-drugs-in-canada-a-comprehensive-guide/

• Controlled substances and precursor chemicals           https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/health-concerns/controlled-substances-precursor-chemicals.html

• About PPSC                              https://www.ppsc-sppc.gc.ca/eng/bas/index.html?wbdisable=true#:~:text=The%20PPSC%20is%20responsible%20for,in%20Quebec%20and%20New%20Brunswick

• US DEA https://www.dea.gov/

• Cannabis Legalization and Regulation https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cj-jp/cannabis/

• Stats Canada https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/231016/dq231016c-eng.htm

• CBC  https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/cannabis-5-year-1.6989993
• Cannabis in Canada Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_in_Canada
• Legal History if Cannabis in Canada Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_history_of_cannabis_in_Canada
• Fentanyl smuggling is not a major crisis at Canada-US border, despite Trump's claims https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2025/02/11/fentanyl-smuggling-is-not-a-major-crisis-at-canada-us-border-despite-trump-s-claims_6738032_4.html#:~:text=Canada-,Fentanyl%20smuggling%20is%20not%20a%20major%20crisis%20at%20Canada%2DUS,major%20source%20of%20the%20drug
• How fentanyl has poisoned relations between the US and Canada https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/negative-side-effects-how-fentanyl-has-poisoned-relations-between-the-us-and-canada/

• The opioid crisis in Canada: a national perspective

  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6034966/

• Opioids in Canada https://www.cihi.ca/en/opioids-in-canada

• Creation of Dashboard Tracking Province’s Overdose Deaths https://vocm.com/2025/03/31/officials-working-on-creation-of-dashboard-tracking-provinces-overdose-deaths/

• Drugs found hidden in baby's diaper as meth lab uncovered in Summerside