Commissioner's Directive 585: National Drugs and Substances Strategy

• To recognize the harms associated with the introduction, trafficking, financing, and distribution of contraband within CSC institutions, including a focused effort on mitigation strategies for reducing the presence of contraband, and ensuring those involved are held accountable.

Application

Applies to all CSC staff and contractors working with inmates in institutions, excluding Community Correctional Centres.

Policy Objective

1. The vision of the National Drugs and Substances Strategy is to promote the health and safety of CSC staff, inmates, and the public by preventing and minimizing harms related to substance use, including a focused effort on mitigation strategies for reducing the introduction, trafficking, financing, and distribution of substances within CSC facilities.
2. The guiding principles lay the groundwork for the National Drugs and Substances Strategy and are continuous throughout the framework:
   1. equitable
   2. collaborative
   3. compassionate, and
   4. comprehensive.
3. The foundational elements of the National Drugs and Substances Strategy are:
   1. evidence
   2. prevention and education
   3. services and supports, and
   4. substance controls.

Responsibilities

4. The Assistant Commissioner, Health Services, and the Assistant Commissioner, Correctional Operations and Programs:
   1. promote a healthy and safe environment  for staff, inmates, visitors, and the public, focusing on the vision, guiding principles and foundational elements of the National Drugs and Substances Strategy, pursuant to Annex B
   2. ensure the availability of services, supports, programs, and practices that aim to promote the health and safety of inmates by preventing and minimizing substance use harms, and reducing the consequences associated with substance use disorder, and
   3. engage and collaborate with stakeholders, including consulting with the Deputy Commissioner for Indigenous Corrections and the Deputy Commissioner for Women, on all pertinent issues related to drugs and substances.
5. The Assistant Commissioner, Health Services, and the Assistant Commissioner, Correctional Operations and Programs, develop and maintain guidelines related to the National Drugs and Substances Strategy, which align with the Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy (see Annex C for a visual representation of the Government of Canada’s Approach to Substance Use Related Harms and the Overdose Crisis). These guidelines:
   1. distinguish between an individual substance use event as a health issue and contraband trafficking as an enforcement issue
   2. are responsive to the identified needs of Indigenous, Black and other racialized, marginalized, women and gender diverse offenders
   3. promote cross-sectoral collaboration, and
   4. are multidisciplinary, evidence-based and information-focused.
6. The Assistant Commissioner, Health Services, develops guidelines related to substance use treatment, support measures, and harm reduction initiatives to support and advance the National Drugs and Substances Strategy.
7. The Assistant Commissioner, Correctional Operations and Programs, develops guidelines related to the National Drugs and Substances Strategy that:
   1. provide guidance to staff in responding to inmates with substance use-related needs
   2. provide guidance to staff aimed at reducing the presence of contraband in institutions and hold accountable those involved in the introduction, trafficking, financing, or distribution of contraband
   3. ensure the Case Management Team includes a clause in the Correctional Plan, as appropriate, stating the expectation that “the inmate remains drug and alcohol free or actively engaged in health services or interventions to address their substance use needs during their incarceration”, and
   4. ensure the Case Management Team considers substance use when completing assessments and making recommendations, including an evaluation of the inmate’s accountability and engagement in addressing substance use.
8. The Regional Deputy Commissioner and the Regional Director, Health Services, ensure this policy is implemented at all institutions within their region.
9. The Director General, Security:
   1. ensures communication structures exist between National Headquarters, Regional Headquarters, and the institutions to engage in discussions related to contraband issues
   2. ensures institutions are provided with support and guidance in the creation of the Contraband Interdiction and Management Committee and the development of the Contraband Interdiction and Management Strategy
   3. monitors the effectiveness of, and compliance with, the guidelines related to the National Drugs and Substances Strategy at the national level, and shares relevant information with the Assistant Commissioner, Correctional Operations and Programs
   4. oversees the development and implementation of an intelligence-led framework for contraband interdiction and management at the national level
   5. ensures relevant information that is presented at the National Strategic Intelligence Committee   is shared with the regions, and
   6. supports the Contraband Interdiction and Management Framework through the application of the relevant policy and the continued operationalization of various tools and practices that promote contraband mitigation enhancements and contribute to safe and effective correctional environments.
10. The Director General, Offender Programs and Reintegration, supports the Contraband Interdiction and Management Framework through the implementation of case management and correctional programming policies and procedures.
11. The Director General, Technical Services and Facilities, supports the Contraband Interdiction and Management Framework through the assessment and implementation of technology and infrastructure enhancements.
12. The Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Correctional Operations, and the Regional Director, Health Services, promote collaboration between Interventions, Operations, Health Services, and other relevant sectors, as needed, in responding to individual substance use.
13. The Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Correctional Operations:
    1. provides oversight of contraband interdiction and management at the regional level
    2. informs the Director General, Security, of any concerns or best practices with regard to contraband in their region, and
    3. ensures institutional challenges and best practices related to contraband are discussed at the Regional Strategic Intelligence Committee or the Regional Management Committee.
14. The Director, Intelligence, and the Deputy Director, Preventive Security and Intelligence, ensure ongoing collaboration with the Regional Intelligence Coordinators and the National Intelligence Analysts on national contraband-related projects, intelligence advisories, and intelligence products, as well as identify and monitor national and regional trends.
15. The Director, Security Operations, ensures:
    1. ongoing collaboration with the Regional Administrators, Security, on national contraband‑related projects and implementation or operationalization of strategies, and
    2. ongoing collaboration and information sharing with the Deputy Director, Preventive Security and Intelligence.
16. The Institutional Head ensures:
    1. the Individual Substance Use Framework is implemented using an interdisciplinary approach and is balanced by the vision, the guiding principles, and the foundational elements of CSC’s National Drugs and Substances Strategy
    2. there is a Standing Order outlining:
       1. how staff are to refer inmates to Health Services following individual substance use events
       2. how relevant information related to individual substance use events is to be shared between Health Services, the Parole Officer and Operations, and
       3. the terms of reference for the interdisciplinary case conference to address specific cases
    3. a list of available services and interventions for individuals with substance use-related needs is maintained and is accessible to inmates, and
    4. any significant trends, gaps, challenges or best practices associated with operational issues related to the institutional response to individual substance use are reported to the Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Correctional Operations.
17. The Institutional Head, in consultation with the Manager, Health Care and Rehabilitation Programs and Services, or Chief, Health Services, at Regional Treatment Centres:
    1. oversees the implementation of the National Drugs and Substances Strategy, and
    2. ensures adherence to Guidelines (GL) 585‑1: Individual Substance Use Framework and GL 585‑2: Contraband Interdiction and Management Framework.

Enquiries

18. Strategic Policy Division
    National Headquarters
    Email: NHQ.Policy-Politiques.AC@csc-scc.gc.ca

Commissioner,
Anne Kelly

Annex A: Cross-References and Definitions

Cross-References

• GL 585-1: Individual Substance Use Framework
• GL 585-2: Contraband Interdiction and Management Framework
• Health Canada publication The Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy: The Government of Canada’s Approach to Substance Use Related Harms and the Overdose Crisis

Definitions

Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy

 the federal government’s drug policy framework guiding federal actions to address immediate needs related to the overdose crisis as well as broader substance use priorities.

Case Management Team

 the individuals involved in managing an offender’s case, which include at a minimum the Parole Officer and the offender, and in institutions, the Correctional Officer II or the Primary Worker.

Contraband (section 2 of the CCRA)

• (a) an intoxicant,
• (b) a weapon or a component thereof, ammunition for a weapon, and anything that is designed to kill, injure or disable a person or that is altered so as to be capable of killing, injuring or disabling a person, when possessed without prior authorization,
• (c) an explosive or a bomb or a component thereof,
• (d) currency over any applicable prescribed limit, when possessed without prior authorization, and
• (e) any item not described in paragraphs (a) to (d) that could jeopardize the security of a penitentiary or the safety of persons, when that item is possessed without prior authorization.
•  
• Contraband trafficking: selling, giving, transferring, transporting, sending, or delivering any item or substance defined as contraband.
•  
• Individual substance use event the seizure of a substance for individual use, a positive urinalysis result (or a refusal to submit to urinalysis), when an inmate is believed to be in an altered level of consciousness due to substance use, a known or suspected substance use or overdose, the non‑medical use of a substance, etc.

National Drugs and Substances Strategy

 CSC’s drug policy framework, that incorporates the renewed elements of the Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy, to promote the health and safety of CSC staff, inmates, visitors, and the public by preventing and minimizing harms related to substance use, including a focused effort on mitigation strategies for reducing the introduction, trafficking, financing, and distribution of contraband within CSC institutions.

Substance use disorder

 a treatable medical condition that affects the brain and involves compulsive and continuous substance use despite negative impacts to the person, their family, friends, and others.

Annex B: Vision, Guiding Principles and Foundational Elements of the National Drugs and Substances Strategy

Vision

1. To promote the health and safety of CSC staff, inmates, visitors, and the public by preventing and minimizing harms related to substance use, including a focused effort on mitigation strategies for reducing the introduction, trafficking, financing, and distribution of contraband within CSC institutions.

Guiding Principles

2. The following guiding principles lay the groundwork for the National Drugs and Substances Strategy and are continuous throughout the framework:
   1. equitable: recognizes the distinct impacts that substance use policies and interventions can have on Indigenous, Black and other racialized, marginalized, women and gender diverse offenders or at-risk individuals within the inmate population
   2. collaborative: engages a variety of stakeholders, including staff, federal, provincial and territorial partners, internal and external experts, and inmates with lived or living experience on issues related to substance use
   3. compassionate: treats individual substance use as a health issue and recognizes that stigma is a barrier to health and other services to assist inmates, and
   4. comprehensive: recognizes that substance use exists on a continuum requiring a range of policies, services and supports to promote overall inmate health and wellbeing, and that harms are not exclusive to substance use itself, but to the illegal drug trade more broadly.

Foundational Elements

3. The foundational elements of the National Drugs and Substances Strategy are:
   1. prevention and education: develop and implement programs, policies, and interventions to prevent, reduce or delay substance-related harms, including a focus on marginalized populations such as Indigenous, Black and other racialized, marginalized, women and gender diverse offenders
   2. evidence: support evidence-based and intelligence-led decision making, as well as build the capacity to collect and analyze timely and accurate data and to review current and emerging evidence and research
   3. services and supports: offer an effective, culturally appropriate, gender-based and evidence-based continuum of care that includes treatment and services to save lives, to reduce harms and to support the individual’s treatment, rehabilitation and recovery goals, and
   4. substance controls: administer and enforce laws and regulations to protect the health and safety of staff, visitors and inmates, as well as address the harms associated with the introduction, trafficking, financing, and distribution of contraband, while at the same time authorizing and enabling legitimate activities with controlled substances.

Annex C: Visual representation of the Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy

Long description

The image is a circular diagram titled "Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy". It is structured in three layers:

Center Circle:

• Contains the main title: "Canadian drugs and substances strategy."

Middle Ring:

• Divided into four quadrants, each representing a key component of the strategy. Each quadrant includes an icon and a label:
  1. Substance Controls – represented by a scale icon, symbolizing regulation and legal frameworks.
  2. Prevention & Education – shown with an open book icon, indicating learning and awareness.
  3. Evidence – depicted with a document and magnifying glass icon, representing research and data.
  4. Substance Use Services & Supports – illustrated with a hand holding people, symbolizing care and community support.

Outer Ring:

• Encircling the entire diagram are four guiding principles:
  • Equitable
  • Comprehensive
  • Collaborative
  • Compassionate

For more information on the Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy and its four key integrated priority areas called foundational elements (prevention and education, substance use services and supports [treatment, harm reduction and recovery], evidence and substance controls), visit:

• canada.ca/drug-strategy