Chemical Substances Used for Control Purposes: A Controversial Legal Status

Abstract

In Quebec, control measures – isolation, restraints and chemical substances – have been the subject of a legislative framework since 1998. However, since that date, chemical substances have been at the heart of a debate on their legal status, between therapy and control. In 2015, the Ministry of Health and Social Services published a revised Reference Framework that is supposed to establish guidelines for chemical substances used for control purposes. A review of this framework, however, reveals several inconsistencies, continuing an indeterminacy about their status. On the one hand, the consent exception does not correspond to the Quebec legal framework for care, suggesting that it is indeed a control measure. On the other hand, the reserved acts are the same whether the chemical substances are used for control or for therapeutic purposes, suggesting that it is in fact a therapeutic measure.