Women Offenders' Substance Use Patterns across Regions
Research Highlights: Women in the Prairie, Pacific, and Atlantic regions were most likely to have a moderate to severe substance use issue. CNS stimulant and opioid use were most common in the Pacific and Prairie regions while injection drug use and poly-substance use were most common in the Atlantic and Prairie regions.
Why we did this study
Previous research shows that women offenders' substance use patterns vary across regions.Footnote 1 This study was completed to highlight the varying substance use profiles of the Correctional Service of Canada's (CSC) five geographic regions: Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario, Prairie, and Pacific.
Publication
What we did
Pre-incarceration substance use patterns for women are assessed at admission to federal custody using the Women's Computerized Assessment of Substance Abuse (W-CASA); 3,579 women (33% Indigenous) were assessed between June 2010 and December 2021. Substance use indicators were compared across regions.
What we found
| Characteristic | Region of W-CASA Assessment (%) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic | Quebec | Ontario | Prairie | Pacific | |
| Overall Substance Use Severity | |||||
| None | 12.2 | 25.6 | 32.8 | 8.4 | 11.8 |
| Low | 22.8 | 31.8 | 26.4 | 19.6 | 24.1 |
| Moderate to Severe | 65.0 | 42.6 | 40.8 | 72.0 | 64.1 |
| Ever drank | 92.9 | 88.6 | 86.8 | 94.8 | 93.5 |
| Ever used drugs | 81.9 | 68.4 | 58.3 | 85.1 | 79.2 |
| Link between substance use and offending | 61.8 | 42.6 | 38.1 | 70.8 | 56.7 |
| Substance Used Most-12 months prior arrest | |||||
| Alcohol | 33.7 | 41.9 | 28.2 | 43.8 | 33.5 |
| Opioids | 15.7 | 3.6 | 12.0 | 11.7 | 10.2 |
| Cocaine/Crack | 14.2 | 10.3 | 7.1 | 7.7 | 9.0 |
| CNS Stimulants | 4.1 | 6.3 | 4.9 | 14.5 | 11.8 |
| Cannabis | 11.0 | 6.5 | 5.2 | 4.7 | 6.9 |
| CNS Depressants | 3.3 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 0.8 |
| Other drugs | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Did not use | 17.7 | 30.5 | 41.9 | 16.0 | 27.4 |
| History of Injection Drug Use | 41.9 | 15.7 | 23.7 | 36.0 | 31.4 |
| Poly-substance use | 61.8 | 42.6 | 38.1 | 70.8 | 56.7 |
| Used during pregnancy (among women with prior pregnancies) | 24.4 | 26.4 | 17.3 | 30.0 | 27.4 |
Women in the Prairie, Pacific, and Atlantic regions were most likely to have an identified substance use issue, particularly a moderate to severe problem (72%, 64%, and 65%, respectively, see Table). Women in the Ontario region were least likely to indicate a history of trying drugs, while proportions reporting ever drinking alcohol was similar across all regions. Across all regions, women in the Prairie (71%) and Atlantic (62%) regions were most likely to have an identified link between their substance use and criminal offending, with women in the Quebec (43%) region being least likely to report this finding.
Substances used in the 12 months prior to arrest varied across region. Alcohol use was reported most often in all regions. After alcohol, women in the Atlantic region reported opioid and cocaine/crack use most often while cocaine/crack and no use was most common in the Quebec region. Over forty percent of women in Ontario also indicated no use in the 12 months prior to arrest, followed by opioid use. For women in the Prairie and Pacific regions, central nervous system (CNS) stimulants and opioids were most common. History of injection drug use (IDU) and poly-substance use also varied across regions, being highest in the Atlantic and Prairie regions. Substance use during pregnancy was less commonly reported by women in the Ontario region (see Table).
What it means
Distinct regional substance use patterns for women offenders were identified. A greater demand for substance use supports and interventions may exist in the Prairie, Atlantic, and Pacific regions.
For more information
For questions and/or more information, please email the Research Branch. You can also visit the Research Publications section for a full list of reports and one-page summaries.
Prepared by: Shanna Farrell MacDonald & Sarah Cram
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