Saskatchewan might force people into drug treatment. But will it work?

Drug laws are changing in Saskatchewan, with the province raising the stakes for people caught using or distributing fentanyl and meth.

The province wants to give police more power to seize property, suspend licences and arrest people. 

Saskatchewan is also considering following Alberta's lead and introducing involuntary treatment. That means drug users would be detained, and forced to detox and undergo treatment against their will.

"Alberta's been talking for some time about their involuntary treatment,"  Saskatchewan's Justice Minister Tim McLeod said Tuesday. "Saskatchewan's been watching with a keen eye on that piece of legislation and the development of it. We're certainly watching very carefully and are considering what our options might be in that space."

The Alberta government plans to spend $180 million over three years to build two involuntary drug addiction treatment centres.

Would involuntary treatment be effective?

A proposed law, called the Compassionate Intervention Act, would allow family members, doctors or police to request mandatory treatment from a judge if someone is deemed a danger to themselves or others. This would be similar to a mental health warrant.

Public health experts in Saskatchewan say they oppose the model.

"You might be able to drag someone into a centre, force them to stop using substances at that time," said Barbara Fornssler, an assistant professor at the University of Saskatchewan's school of public health. "But when the opportunity becomes available again they will take it, because we haven't really addressed those underlying drivers of substance abuse. [It's] rooted in trauma and a lack of available resources."

The Canadian Society of Addiction Medicine recently reviewed 22 studies around the world, looking into the effectiveness of involuntary treatment. The studies were mainly taken from Canada, the U.S. and China.

Of the 22 studies, 10 reported negative outcomes, five found no difference and seven found improvements, mainly in retention. One of the seven found a reduction in substance use post-treatment. 

Drug treatment as an alternative to jail, fines

Under the Criminal Code, the courts can't force anyone into drug treatment. But in certain cases they can offer it as an alternative to a sentence in custody, with the threat of jail time if the person fails to complete treatment.

Saskatchewan announced Tuesday that people could receive fines of up to $1 million if they're caught handling or distributing meth or fentanyl. But it said those fines would be reduced significantly if the offenders took addiction treatment.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association said that's not really giving people a choice at all. 

"It's basically like trading one jail cell for another," Harini Sivalingam, the director of the equality program, said. "We'll reduce your sentence or we'll reduce your fine if you enter into a treatment centre. It's not really a choice and I think that's what we need to really focus on."

It's basically like trading one jail cell for another.- Harini Sivalingam, the director of CCLA's equality program

The government also announced it will cancel provincial licences for people convicted of drug-related crimes. That would include driver's, firearms, hunting and fishing licences. 

"I guess it remains to be seen whether those measures will be effective," Carla Beck, the leader of the NDP said at a news conference Thursday. "Getting that poison out of our communities is absolutely something we should all be concerned about."

The latest federal figures, from September, say more than 47,000 Canadians have died from toxic opioids since 2016.