.
The Chinese were also accused of being menaces of social degradation. According to Canadian Unionists at the time the "debased morals" of the Chinese made them threats towards the virtues of the nations youth, primarily the daughters of the country. The Chinese were portrayed as devaluing the family concept, and were accused of being responsible for most the prostitution in Canada. Within a "workingmen's" rally held in Victoria, British Colombia in June of 1885, it was claimed "they [the Chinese] bring no women with them but for those brought for the vilest purposes". .
The federal government responded to the widespread antagonism against the Chinese by introducing a head tax of $50 dollars per Chinese migrant in 1886. This head tax aggressively increased over the years to $100 in 1900 to $500 in 1903. By 1911 the Canadian government banned the use of opium and other drugs. Maximum penalties were issued for the possession of morphine, cocaine, and opium which in some cases resulted in up to one year imprisonment and a $500 fine. However these fines did not hinder the use of narcotic drugs in Canada. Chie Rufus Chamberlain, the Chief Constable of the Vancouver City Police believed that the use and possession of opium should be a punishable offense under the law, and thus be subjected to harsher penalties. By the 1920's Canada underwent a self-induced "drug panic" such that Canadians believed that the drug situation was more prevalent than it actually was. For instance, based on a survey done in 1923-1924 based on a survey of doctors and police departments, the Division of Narcotic Control estimated that there were 9,500 drug addicts in the country, while these numbers did not include the Chinese addicts, it was concluded that only 1 in every 1,000 Canadians were addicts. This meant a percentile of 0.1% of Canadians had succumbed to addiction, therefore it seems this "drug panic" was not created in fear of Canadian social degradation, but rather in support of Chinese expulsion.
