Pubdate: Fri, 18 Dec 2009 Source: Penticton Western (CN BC) Copyright: 2009 Penticton Western Contact: http://www.pentictonwesternnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1310 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory Minimum Sentencing) BILL WOULD UNFAIRLY TILT SCALES OF JUSTICE It's no secret that drug production - most often marijuana grow-ops or meth labs - are a major source of income for the criminal element of our society. In order to keep up the appearance of being tough on crime, the federal Conservatives are pushing through a bill that would apply stiff mandatory sentences to anyone involved in any scale of grow-op, from a few plants in the basement to major operations involving hundreds of plants. Nobody wants a marijuana grow-op in their neighbourhood. Often set up in rented homes, they're messy and destructive to the building they're set up in. It's not uncommon for the substandard wiring used to transfer power to those powerful grow lights to cause fires. Meth labs can be even more destructive. It's no wonder then that the federal conservatives are trying to push through Bill C-15, which would establish mandatory penalties for serious drug crimes. After all, it looks good on any government's resume that they helped in the war on drugs. But the Conservatives are crying foul after the Liberal-dominated senate amended C-15, removing some of the mandatory sentencing provisions. In particular, they removed the mandatory penalty targeting drug producers caught with between five and 200 marijuana plants. South of the border, many states have tried mandatory penalties. The penalties haven't acted as a deterrent and as a result the U.S. now has one of the largest prison populations in the world. Were C-15 to pass unaltered, as the Conservatives insist it must, it would put someone growing five plants for their personal use on a par with a full-scale grow-op run by organized crime. Yes, both are illegal, but there is a vast difference in both the effect and the scale of the crimes. And that's what judges are for; to evaluate all the circumstances of a case and render a sentence appropriate to the crime. Imposing mandatory sentences for minor crimes has only been proven to be good for one thing - filling up jails. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D