Final report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs.

  • Canada. Commission of Inquiry into the Non-medical Use of Drugs
Date:
[1973]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Final report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    from various scientific disciplines and research assistants. Full-time staff members with the Commission during the production of this Final Report are listed in Appendix N. Former members of the staff, whose work contributed primarily to earlier Commission reports, are listed in those publications. The Commission’s contract researchers and major consultants are noted in Appendix O. Under the guidance of the Commission’s librarian, Ed Hanna, we have developed a collection of over 14,600 articles, books, briefs and other docu- ments. In addition, we have had full access to the library and documentation facilities of the Addiction Research Foundation of Ontario, to the Library of the Department of National Health and Welfare, to the National Library, and to the National Science Library. We have also received considerable assistance from other libraries in Canada and abroad through inter-library loan and special subject searches. Examples of these are the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health Clearinghouse for Drug Abuse Information, the U.S. National Library of Medicine, and the Science Information Exchange of the Smithsonian Institution. The Commission’s research program consisted of some 120 projects, many of which are listed in Appendix R. In addition, there was a variety of miscellaneous investigations which were not formally classified as separate projects. The areas covered by the research program include: chemical and botanical factors; physiological, psychological and behavioural effects; extent and patterns of use; motivation and related factors; social context; mass media; legal and illegal sources and distribution; legal controls; law enforcement and the correctional system; medical treatment and related services; innova- tive services; information and education; prevention and alternatives to drug use; and the response of various institutions, including government, to non- medical drug use. The methods employed in our research include critical review of technical and scientific literature and current investigations, surveys and interviews, participant observation, human pharmacological experiments, and chemical analysis of illicit drugs. From the beginning of our inquiry it was apparent that there was a great need for more information concerning the nature and effects of the various drugs. Such information is essential for public policy and personal decisions, as well as programs of drug education. For these reasons the Commission invested a significant proportion of its resources in the study of drug effects. These efforts involved the use of data and information obtained by the various research methods mentioned above. The Commission’s work in this area is reflected primarily in Chapter Two of the Interim Report, entitled “The Drugs and Their Effects”; Chapter Two of the Cannabis Report, entitled “Cannabis and Its Effects’; and in Appendix A of the present report, entitled The Drugs and Their Effects. Most of the work in this area has been conducted by the Commission’s full-time research staff under the direction of Dr. Ralph D. Miller, Research Director, who drafted the above sections of the Commission’s reports. Dr. Miller was assisted
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