Pubdate: Tue, 03 Jun 2003
Source: Vermilion Standard (CN AB)
Copyright: 2003 Vermilion Standard
Contact:  http://www.bowesnet.com/vermilion/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/776
Author: Dustin Walker
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

NEW POT LAWS WON'T CHANGE MUCH

The federal government's plan to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana 
won't seriously impact the number of people charged for pot possession or 
even relieve any backlog of court cases, says one local lawyer.

Under decriminalization, marijuana won't be legal; but it won't be criminal 
either.

Those caught with up to 15 grams of pot would no longer face a criminal 
record, instead youths would be hit with fines of up to $250 while adults 
would have to cough up $400.

"I don't think things have changed a heck of a lot," says Vermilion lawyer 
Duncan Crerar. "They (judges) weren't giving criminal records for 
possession anyway."

Crerar says those caught with pot, and charged by police, would often 
receive discharges, meaning that after a probation period, or similar 
punishment, the charge would be stricken from the person's record. But the 
conviction can still be brought up in court if the person is charged with 
any subsequent crimes. That's assuming the judge doesn't throw out the case 
completely.

Also, a possession charge currently carries a prohibition against traveling 
to the U.S. That will change if marijuana is decriminalized, at least for 
some people.

"They haven't gone so far in this legislation as to automatically pardon 
everyone (who has possession charges before decriminalization), the 
applicant has to make an application for a pardon," says Crerar. "And they 
will probably get it, but that doesn't change the fact that they have had 
this record, and the U.S. probably won't change (their policies) anyway."

Crerar also believes that the amount of cases taken by over worked crown 
prosecutors won't be lessened either. "There's so few (cases) that it 
doesn't matter."

However, Alliance MP Keith Martin has said that $150 million in court costs 
would be saved if decriminalization went ahead. Justice Canada estimates 
that 600,000 Canadians have criminal records for being busted with pot.

The question remains: if marijuana is no longer criminal, will more people 
smoke it? If so, that could raise another issue.

"One of the aspects you have to consider here is if there are going to be a 
lot more people driving while under the influence of it, they really don't 
have tests for it," says Crerar. "There's no requirement to take a blood 
test under the Criminal Code, they should probably change that."

There's no machine, like a breathalyzer, that reveals if a person is 
driving while stoned. Unless the person admits it, police have a difficult 
time gaining enough evidence for a pot-related DUI conviction.

"You would have to have a whole bunch of indicators, but that doesn't prove 
very much."

Margaret Wheat, of Wheat Law Office in Vermilion, says she has no strong 
opinion on the pending pot law.

"Certain employment is precluded if you have a criminal record, and that 
may have nothing to do with a minor involvement with marijuana," she says. 
"I can think of a couple situations where it probably wasn't appropriate 
where a criminal record was a result, and sometimes it probably was 
appropriate, it depends."

The maximum sentence for illegal pot growers is set to increase from seven 
years in prison to 14 years if the decriminalization bill passes. The feds 
will also be committing $245 million over five years for drug law 
enforcement, research and education programs.
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