Join us for the 4th annual national CSSDP conference, on November 5-7, 2010.  The 2010 conference will be hosted by the University of Toronto CSSDP chapter, at the downtown location.

This year's conference is themed 'Daring to be Sensible'.  We will celebrate those who challenge the war on drugs, those who provide harm reduction services, those who promote honest education.  Students, young people, researchers, service providers, community members, parents, and more will come together for a weekend to celebrate and create positive resistance to the war on drugs in Canada and around the world.

The past two Conservative governments have introduced legislation that would introduce mandatory minimums sentences for drug offences. The first inception (Bill C26) was nullified by the election. The second (Bill C15) has now made it through the House of Commons and almost made it through the Senate, but died during the recent prorogation.  In May 2010 the legislation was introduced into the Senate as Bill S-10.  Click here for more on our work on the legislation.

This is despite calls from many health, service provider, community and other organizations to kill the damaging bill, and against the advice of the government's own Department of Justice report from 2002.

This past summer Xperiment was launched, giving youth the chance to experience drugs without having to try them.  Is this a novel approach, or a recycling of negative drug education?  It features Earl, a single eyeball, who is put in an alley and given substances like Marijuana, Ecstasy, and Cocaine, and experiences comically exaggerated effects.  Not everyone is convinced this is the best use of government money to teach youth about the effects of drugs.

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Myth: Marijuana is a gateway drug.

Myth: Safe injection sites increase crime.

CSSDP: Winnipeg has begun the first installment of Drug Policy Myth Busters. Inspired by candidate comments in the 2008 election, this is a series of articles dedicated to debunking some common stock arguments against sensible drug policies.

Health Canada recently announced that it was looking into the possibility of legislating BZP and other TFMPPs. Many people haven't even heard of these substances, but they've been sold as "legal ecstasy" for years out of adult shops and sometimes head shops.

Despite a lack of scientific research into what exactly the effects of BZP are, there might be a move to ban this substance.

The first drug policy in Canada was the Opium Act of 1908.

To celebrate the centennial of bad drug policy in Canada, the CSSDP chapters at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University hosted the second installment of Canada's only student run conference series on drug policy.

C-26 and Mandatory Minimums?

Keep Insite open?

Legalize pot?

CSSDP Chapters in Winnipeg and Ottawa have surveyed candidates in their cities on key drug policy issues. Check out the results.