Pubdate: Wed, 20 Sep 2006
Source: Standard Freeholder (Cornwall, CN ON)
Copyright: 2006 Osprey Media Group Inc
Contact:  http://www.standard-freeholder.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1169
Author: Terri Saunders

LITTLE DETERRENT FOR OPERATIONS LIKE GROW-OPS

When four men charged in relation to a deadly shooting last week at 
an area marijuana grow operation go before the Ontario courts in the 
coming months, they will face punishments ranging from fines to 
prison sentences.

But police officers tasked with taking criminals off the streets say 
they're frustrated by what they say is a minimal amount of punishment 
doled out by a system they believe is trapped in the past.

"There is still a sense, somehow, that marijuana is a soft drug not 
associated with violence," said Det.- Sgt. Paul Henry of the Ontario 
Provincial Police's drug enforcement section. "We're talking about 
grow-ops that have thousands of plants and are worth millions of 
dollars. It's a very violent industry."

Crimes associated with drugs such as marijuana fall under the 
nation's Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which includes 
guidelines on punishment for a variety of offences.

Individuals found guilty under the act face a wide range of sentences 
such as a fine of a few hundred dollars to life behind bars.

If a person is found to be in possession of less than 30 grams of a 
drug such as marijuana and it's a first offence, he or she will 
likely walk away from court with a fine not exceeding $1,000.

A person found to be in possession of more than 30 grams, which would 
constitute trafficking under the act, could face up to life in prison.

When it comes to growing marijuana, offenders are looking at no more 
than seven years behind bars.

Police officers say the sentences are appropriate, but they're rarely 
handed out to the full extent the act allows.

"The penalties these criminals face in our courts are not very 
stiff," said RCMP Sgt. Denis Pelletier. "Offenders may face fines, 
probation or short prison terms. It's not exactly a huge deterrent."

Across Ontario, courts have consistently handed down light sentences 
for marijuana-related crimes. A quick review of cases in different 
parts of the province over the past few months paint a picture of how 
the matters are dealt with in the justice system.

In March, a Cobourg man found guilty of operating a $73,000 indoor 
grow operation got a year of house arrest after a judge considered 
the fact the man had a handicapped child, while in July, a Pembroke 
man got three months of house arrest after officers discovered a grow 
operation inside the man's home.
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