Pubdate: Thu, 24 Dec 2015
Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Times Colonist
Contact:  http://www.timescolonist.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481
Author: Laura Kane
Page: A4

CANADIANS FACING POT CHARGES LEFT IN LIMBO

'I am not a criminal,' says 65-year-old arrested this month in Nanaimo
raids

VANCOUVER - While Rose Miranda waits for her April court date to face
potential charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking, the
65-year-old retired education assistant can't take cannabis for her
arthritis.

Mounties have also banned her from visiting or contacting anyone at
Phoenix Pain Management Society, the medical marijuana dispensary
where she was volunteering when she was arrested in Nanaimo.

"I love Baby Trudeau, but he says, 'We're going to fix this.' When?
Meanwhile, I have clients who don't have their medication," Miranda
said.

"I take care of people who are housebound, people in wheelchairs and
people who are poor. They need their medication and right now they
can't access it."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has vowed to legalize and regulate
marijuana but no timeline is in sight. Meantime, cannabis-related
crimes continue to tie up police and court resources, leaving some
feeling like they're in legal limbo.

Miranda began using medical marijuana about two years ago, after she
said prescription drugs turned her brain into "mush." She began
volunteering at Phoenix, primarily to educate seniors about cannabis
as a pain-relief option.

Nanaimo RCMP raided three dispensaries, including Phoenix, on Dec. 1.
Selling pot over the counter - whether medical or recreational -
remains illegal in Canada, and Mounties sent warning letters weeks
before executing search warrants.

"They came in like a SWAT team, guns out, 'Hands up!' screaming,
yelling, terrifying everybody who was in there," Miranda said.

She said police body-searched everyone, including an elderly volunteer
with a cane, before handcuffing them and taking them to jail. There,
she said, she sat in a freezing cell wearing only a cotton shirt and
pants for more than 10 hours.

Two days later, she said she wound up in hospital with chest
pains.

Const. Gary O'Brien of the Nanaimo RCMP said he couldn't comment
directly on any dispensaries that were raided, but officers acted
professionally at all times.

"I believe most of the scenes were videotaped, so if there's any
evidence our police officers were [heavy-handed], that will certainly
come out," he said.

O'Brien said there is evidence that some stores were selling to
minors, but he could not say which ones. The investigations are ongoing.

The RCMP's raids on B.C.'s pot shops are unusual. But across Canada,
charges for cannabis possession remain relatively common and have
increased over the past decade.

Last year, 24,542 people were charged with marijuana possession, up
from 18,953 in 2004. Charges for the crime hit a peak in 2011, with
27,997 people charged.

Simon Fraser University criminologist Neil Boyd found in a 2013 study
that the Vancouver police rarely recommended charging individuals for
cannabis possession as a singular offence, while the RCMP was mostly
responsible for a two-fold increase in charges over a decade in B.C.

Boyd said the federal government should consider immediately
decriminalizing possession for personal use, while it works out the
details of legalization.

"It would send a message that we don't want law enforcement to be
particularly focused on possession," he said. "I think it's a very
small first step. We have tons of evidence globally that
decriminalizing possession has no impact on rates of use or harms."

Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, when asked whether she'd
consider immediately decriminalizing possession, said charging for
criminal offences is an enforcement issue.

"Marijuana is still a Schedule 2 controlled substance under the
[Controlled Drugs and Substances] Act and we'll be further considering
that as we move forward."

National RCMP spokeswoman Const. Annie Delisle said while the
government designs a regime to legalize marijuana, the RCMP is still
mandated to enforce current laws.

Ujjal Dosanjh, a former federal Liberal health minister and B.C.
premier, said decriminalizing possession of small amounts for personal
use was a good idea, but anything larger would require a regulatory
regime.

Dosanjh advocated for legalization in 2012 as part of a coalition
called Stop the Violence B.C. While he said he hasn't changed his
position, he called on federal government to proceed cautiously in
light of new data from U.S. states on drug-impaired accidents.

In Washington state where marijuana is legal, the percentage of
drivers involved in fatal crashes who tested positive for marijuana
doubled over four years to 12 per cent in 2014. Police must use blood
tests to determine if a driver recently consumed pot, as there is no
approved roadside breath or saliva test.

"If I had that information two years ago, I would have said that we
shouldn't legalize and decriminalize until you really have a system
where you can check someone on the road," Dosanjh said.

Meanwhile, Miranda is preparing herself for the possibility that
she'll face the first criminal charge of her life - she's never even
had a parking ticket. She said she hopes she won't have to go to
prison to defend the rights of seniors to use medical marijuana.

"I feel very angry, but defiant, because I know I'm doing the right
thing. My conscience is clear. I am not a criminal," she said.
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MAP posted-by: Matt