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The Ontario Government has recently passed a new Liquor Licence Act, based on the recommendations of a special advisory committee. This paper describes how the advisory committee framed the issues and arrived at a lengthy document detailing 73 recommendations on issues such as licence classification, the control of special permit functions days and hours of operation, legal drinking age, alcohol advertising, the civil liabilities of alcohol providers and server training. The key actors and considerations are discussed as well as the subsequent Cabinet action on the report and the implementation process currently underway. The paper concludes with an assessment from both an administrative and a public health perspective, with particular attention to the limited role which research played in these policy decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the social, demographic and drug abuse backgrounds of cocaine abusers seen at an alcohol and drug abuse assessment centre in Kitchener, Ontario. It compares cocaine abusers to cannabis users and alcoholics of the same age at the same centre. Cocaine and cannabis abusers abusers are mainly young, single males while alcohol abusers are much older. The cocaine and cannabis abusers are both heavy drinkers but the cocaine group contained more high-risk drinkers, more drug injectors and had a higher alcohol consumption. Cocaine abusers are young poly-drug users for whom drinking is also a major problem. Treatment plans should take these problems into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present paper was to examine firstly the distribution of THC consumption among an aggregate sample of 4737 students from Ontario, Canada, and secondly the assumption of log-normality. With respect to the estimation of THC consumption the following was indicated: per capita consumption was estimated to be 310 mg; males consumed significantly more than did females; and consumption was curvilinearly related to age of student. In contrast to earlier findings, the assumption of log-normality was not met. The preventative implications of the log-normal distribution are indeed important, not only with respect to alcohol but also to other substance use and therefore require further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the disjointed manner in which addiction treatment services have evolved in Ontario, Canada, the Addiction Research Foundation has promoted the development of coordinated, community-based treatment systems. This paper describes the plan of action adopted by the Addiction Research Foundation for the establisment of the treatment systems. An approach to the evaluation of the Foundation's work in this area is also described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports four types of data which are relevant to the study of the effects of the increase in the drinking age. The data are from : (1) surveys of drinking and drinking problems among high school students; (2) a study of a perceptions of vice-principals; (3) a trend analysis of young drinking offender charges; and (4) trend analyses of drinking-driving statistics. The results suggest a minimal effect for the changes in the legal drinking age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]