Involuntary treatment for substance use in Canada: evidence, equity, and policy expansion

Across North America, calls for involuntary treatment for substance use have gained momentum as a response to visible substance use, homelessness, and public “disorder”.1,2 These proposals are emerging amid deepening structural inequality, including record income gaps, and a growing number of homeless encampments.3,4 As poverty and housing instability force substance use into public spaces, policy responses target visible symptoms, prioritizing compulsory treatment over addressing unmet structural determinants of health.