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Criminal Justice

Crimes resulting from substance use or substance use legislation led to $10 billion in criminal justice costs in 2020. This accounts for 20.3% of the total overall cost of $49.1 billion. This was equivalent to $262 per person in Canada.

Criminal justice costs included:

  • Policing,
  • Courts and
  • Correctional services.
Crimes included in the costs covered:
  • Crimes 100% attributable to substance use, such as impaired driving and illegal drug-related offences and
  • Crimes that were partially due to substance use, such as violent crimes (e.g., homicide, assault) and non-violent crimes (e.g., theft, arson)
Government agencies responsible for law enforcement, prosecutions, correctional services, crime prevention and public safety, and organizations working with people who have interacted with the criminal justice system can use this information to help guide resource allocation.

The Canadian Substance Use Costs and Harms data provides a baseline to help people understand the economic impact of current or future legislation changes, such as cannabis legalization, decriminalization of simple drug possession or alternatives to criminal sanctions.

Criminal Justice Costs by the Numbers

Pie chart of all costs associated with substance use in Canada in 2020 focuses only on criminal justice costs, which accounted for $10.0 billion.

Of the total substance use costs related to criminal justice in 2020:

  • Alcohol use accounted for $4 billion (39.8% of the total costs).
  • Cocaine use accounted for $2.4 billion (24.2%).
  • Opioid use accounted for $1.1 billion (11.3%).


Criminal Justice Costs Per Person (2007–2020)

Costs rose 9.0%, from $241 to $262


Criminal Justice Costs Per Person by Substance (2007–2020):

Alcohol costs remained relatively unchanged at $104 in both years (0.2% increase).
Opioids costs increased 24.1%, from $24 to $30.
Cocaine costs rose 18.6%, from $54 to $64.
Central nervous system stimulants (excluding cocaine) rose 52.7%, from $16 to $24.

Emerging Trends in Criminal Justice Costs

  • Nearly half of alcohol-attributable costs were related to violent crime.
    • In contrast, about half of the costs attributable to opioids, cocaine and other stimulants were related to non-violent crime.
  • In 2020, just more than 20% of cannabis-attributable costs were for violations of the Cannabis Act, which legalized cannabis production, trafficking and possession for recreational purposes in 2018.
  • Criminal justice costs attributable to cannabis decreased 21.4%, from $36 in 2007 to $28 per person in 2020.
    • Costs declined more steeply following the introduction of the Cannabis Act (13.5% decrease between in 2018 and 2020 alone) due to fewer incidents, charges and admissions associated with cannabis possession.

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