Pubdate: Thu, 24 Dec 2015
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2015 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Laura Kane
Page: S1

CANADIANS FACING POT CHARGES IN LIMBO, WHILE LIBERALS WORK ON LEGALIZATION

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.

The RCMP 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, B.C.

"I love Baby Trudeau, but he says, 'We're going to fix this.' When? 
Meanwhile, I have clients who don't have their medication," Ms. 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 there is no timeline in sight. Meantime, 
cannabis-related crimes continue to tie up police and court 
resources, leaving some feeling as if they're in legal limbo.

Ms. Miranda began using medical marijuana about two years ago, she 
said, after 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," Ms. Miranda said.

Constable 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.

Constable O'Brien said there is evidence that some stores were 
selling to minors.

Across Canada, charges for cannabis possession and have increased 
over the past decade. Last year, 24,542 people were charged with 
marijuana possession, up from 18,953 in 2004.

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.

National RCMP spokeswoman Constable Annie Delisle said while the 
government designs a regime to legalize marijuana, the RCMP is still 
mandated to enforce current laws.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom