4.3 Populations Targeted for Substance Use

During the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in the late 1800s, Chinese labourers were poorly compensated, faced dangerous working conditions and endured discriminatory and racist attitudes (British Columbia, n.d.). These culminated in the Vancouver Race Riots of 1907 (CISUR, 2015). Chinese Canadians were also the targets of various discriminatory Canadian policies, including early drug polices that focused on opium smoking and polices aimed at curtailing the Chinese population of Canada (i.e., Chinese Immigration Act of 1885, Opium Act of 1908, Opium and Drug Act of 1911, Chinese Immigration Act/Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923).

In the early 20th century, the consumption of opium was extremely common. Prevailing views of the dominant culture, however, were that the “respectable” way to consume opium was by drinking it (i.e., laudanum), the form of consumption used largely by the white middle-class (CISUR, 2015). In contrast, the “degrading” and “immoral” method of opium use was smoking it, which was the often preferred form of consumption among Chinese Canadians (Malleck, 1997). It was this method of use that resulted in harsher criminal punishments. As noted by the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition (2021, para. 27), “criminalized drugs have long been linked to marginalized and racialized groups, who have been depicted as outsiders to the nation threatening moral Canadians.” In an attempt to control racialized communities and their use of drugs, prohibitionist drug policies were enacted throughout the 20th century (Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, n.d.).

Click the links below to learn more about the racist nature of early Canadian drug policies:

The Racist History Behind Canada’s Marijuana Prohibition

The Influence of Opium and Cocaine Panic in Canadian Drug Policy