Part One: 1988 Report of the Task Force on Illegal Drug Use in Ontario

In May, 1988, 15-year-old Benji Hayward attended a rock concert in downtown Toronto. While there, he took two LSD “blotters” and a cannabis joint. Throughout the concert, Benji reportedly became hyper and had trouble sitting up. At the end of the night, he became separated from his friends and did not make it home.

Four days later, Toronto police found his body in Lake Ontario. An autopsy determined Benji had accidentally drowned due to the ingestion of LSD and cannabis. A coroner’s inquest into his death urged then-premier David Peterson to establish a task force on substance abuse. In August, 1998, the premier asked Ken Black, MPP for Muskoka-Georgian Bay, to conduct the task force.

Creation of the task force

Over the next six weeks, Ken and I travelled around the province. We met with parents, students, law enforcement, educators, health care professionals, mental health practitioners, clergy, community agencies, service organizations and many people working in the addictions field. The most difficult interview – and one I will never forget – was with Benji’s parents. They were understandably heart broken and distraught, and wanted to know why and how their young son could have so senselessly and tragically lost his life.

Throughout the hearings, several messages became clear: the use of illegal drugs in Ontario was a serious problem, young people had easy access to illegal drugs, there was a lack of education about drug use and abuse in schools and the increasing use of illegal drugs was destroying families and clogging our judicial system.

The task force’s findings

We found that

• our culture was becoming more chemically dependent
• tobacco, which was very easy for youth to access, was increasingly a gateway drug to more dangerous and illicit substances
• there were links between illegal drug use and abuse, family violence, marital breakdown and prostitution
• strong peer pressure, especially among young people, contributed to more youth experimenting with illegal drugs.

It was clear that the reduction in the use of illegal drugs had to focus on both supply and demand. With the immense profits in the sale of illegal drugs, law enforcement officials told us there would always be an adequate supply. Reduction in drug use had to come from a reduction in demand.

On the community side, we found that while activities and programs aimed at reducing, preventing and coping with illegal drug use were being offered by many organizations, there was little coordination or planning in overall delivery. In many areas of the province, there was a patchwork network of services, little partnership and delivery overlap. It was difficult for individuals and families to determine which organizations offered which services, and where best to seek help or resources.

The report’s recommendations

On October 14, 1988, Ken presented his report to the premier. It contained 29 recommendations. They touched on education, health care, law enforcement and training, and included

• An earlier start (as early as Kindergarten) to school curriculum focused on healthy lifestyles.
• Age-appropriate drug education as part of the physical education curriculum in secondary schools.
• More training for student teachers and practising teachers on drug education.
• Parent education and public awareness campaigns related to illegal drugs and healthy lifestyle practices.
• Efforts to reduce the supply of illegal drugs into Ontario.
• Additional funding for law enforcement to hire more staff.
• Enabling Ontario Crown Attorneys to assume prosecution of offences for illegal drug-related crimes.
• Stronger seizure-of-proceeds legislation.
• An amendment to the Criminal Code to create a specific offence of counselling, aiding or abetting a youth to commit any offence under the Narcotics Control Act.
• Drug education and treatment for incarcerated inmates convicted of drug-related crimes.
• Alternative measures for courts to use for young people found to have been involved with drugs.
• Multi-disciplinary crisis interventions teams at concerts to assist with security and medical emergencies.
• Comprehensive intervention, counselling and treatment programs accessible to all Ontario residents.
• Additional attention to the needs of youth in Northern Ontario, in a culturally appropriate manner, due to their isolation and lack of access to many programs.
• The development of Employee Assistance Programs in all government ministries and agencies, and the encouragement of business and industry to do the same.
• Additional training for workers in the health care, education, social work and law enforcement sectors to ensure appropriate education and preparation related to illegal drug use.
• A provincial government coordinating body to identify, focus and encourage cooperation among all ministries related to illegal drug use.

In August, 1989, Ken was appointed as Minister of Tourism and Recreation. The premier added Minister Responsible for the Anti-Drug Strategy to his portfolio so the work of the Task Force could continue while he was in Cabinet.