Drug treatment courts--a viable option for Canada? Sentencing issues and preliminary findings from the Toronto court

Abstract

The first drug treatment court in Canada began operation in Toronto in December of 1998. This paper describes some aspects of the evolution, structure, and operation of this court. In addition, the federally-funded evaluation of the new program has produced data from the first 18 months of its full operation when 198 drug-dependent individuals were admitted. These preliminary results are described and compared to the findings of an Australian study and to select American studies. Important differences in sentencing practices and options for drug offenses between Canada and the United States are highlighted. Even at this early stage of development, it is suggested that the types of clients retained and more successful in this Canadian experiment may be quite different from the more typical American drug treatment court clientele. The need for careful monitoring and more complete, long-term information is emphasized before the viability of this approach is established for Canada.