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We showed in our earlier work that the social construction of the most recent dr ug war in the United States was the result of political claims makers attempting to boost thei r popularity in an election season with a wholesome, safe issue to champion (Jensen et al., 1991). To some observers it seemed ironic that within two days of the declaration of a war on d rugs in the United States by then - President Ronald Reagan, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney u nexpectedly announced his intention to wage a war on drugs in Canada. While Canadian politi cians and media commentators were more skeptical in their initial reactions to the Prime M inister's announcement than were most observers in the United States, the initiative for a Canadian drug war had begun (see Erickson 1992; Maclean's September 29, 1986).
The objective of this paper is to trace the development of the war on drugs in Canada. It is our contention that similar political motivations underlie both the Canadian experience and the most recent crusade against illegal drugs and drug users in the United States. G iven the contrasting circumstances in these two societies, differing outcomes of the war on drug initiatives should be expected, however.
Theoretical perspective
In earlier research on the origins of the American war on drugs, we proposed a r evision of a social constructionist model which relies on the assumption of grass roots popul ar sentiments as the generating force behind the definition of social conditions as problematic ( Jensen et al., 1991). Our revised social constructionist model recognizes that some social pro blems are created by powerful claims makers, to serve their political self - interests, in the following stages:
1. Incipiency. In this stage some members of the general public may be c oncerned with the emerging issue but neither formal organizations nor strong leadership e xist to champion the condition as a problem.
2. Coalescence. This stage may be present or it may not. If coalescence occurs, informal and formal organizations come to the forefront to act as collective claims makers.
3. Creation and Policy Formation. The creation and policy formation stag e is central to this model. In this stage, powerful interests such as politicians or gover...
