Moral, Ethical and Legal Considerations with the Use of Drugs for Performance Maintenance in the Canadian Forces.

摘要

The operational use of performance maintenance drugs in the Canadian Forces (CF) is influenced by moral, ethical and legal issues. Centrally acting drugs such as methylphenidate, dextroamphetamine, and modafinil, amongst others, have been used in some militaries as a fatigue countermeasure to help military personnel maintain vigilance for prolonged periods of time. The National Defence Act (NDA), The Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA), The Food and Drugs Act, and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) are national statutes that are all influential with respect to the potential decision to use performance maintenance drugs in the CF. If these statutes are fully complied with, there would be no legal impediment to the lawful use of medications for the purpose of performance maintenance in the CF. Despite this fact, the use of pharmaceuticals for this purpose is not currently authorized. This lack of approval has been historically on the basis of moral and ethical concerns. A former surgeon general noted in a recent article published in 2007, however, that there may be a role for the use of pharmaceuticals as a military fatigue countermeasure modality under very specific controlled circumstances. The CF has set up a research program at Defence Research and Development Canada (Toronto campus) to take a holistic look at the Fatigue Countermeasures area. This talk will focus on Canadian moral, ethical, and legal issues that influence the prescription of performance maintenance medications for the specific purpose of maintaining wakefulness in the CF.