Pubdate: Mon, 17 Oct 2016 Source: Ottawa Sun (CN ON) Copyright: 2016 Canoe Limited Partnership Contact: http://www.ottawasun.com/letter-to-editor Website: http://www.ottawasun.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/329 Author: Jacquie Miller Page: 3 GATINEAU TOKERS END UP IN THE JOINT Quebec city is near the top of the list when it comes to getting busted smoking pot Pot smokers in Gatineau are more likely to be charged for possession of marijuana than those in virtually any other major Canadian city. Only Sherbrooke, Que., had a slightly higher rate of pot possession charges last year, according to data collected by Postmedia as part of a project examining Canada's move to legalize recreational marijuana. The federal government has promised to introduce legislation in the spring. In the meantime, pot laws remain in force, although how they are applied varies dramatically across the country. In Gatineau, the rate of marijuana possession charges was 153.42 for every 100,000 people in 2015, second to Sherbrooke, which had a rate of 153.71. Saskatoon and Kelowna were third and fourth place, respectively, in the comparison of 33 major Canadian cities. Once the search is widened to include smaller towns and cities, however, Gatineau doesn't even make the top 20. The highest rate last year among the 1,132 municipalities analyzed by Postmedia was Waskesiu, in northern Saskatchewan: 1,903.81 charges per 100,000 people. But since the population there is tiny, it only represents charges against 19 people. The ski towns of Lake Louise and Jasper, Alta., where RCMP ski patrol teams help to keep pot smokers off the slopes, came second and third. They had dominated the category until last year. The major city in which pot smokers were least likely to be charged? Kingston, with 13.55 charges for every 100,000 people. Ottawa ranked in the middle, at 47.42. The federal government has said one of its major reasons for legalizing marijuana is to stop the flood of people convicted of possessing small amounts from ending up with criminal records. But it has also rejected calls to decriminalize simple possession before it becomes legal. In both Ottawa, the rate of charges for marijuana possession was only 47.42. Police do not usually charge people who have no criminal record for simple possession of marijuana unless there are extenuating circumstances, said Insp. Michael Laviolette. "If a guy is walking down Elgin Street smoking a joint, we're not going to be taking him down and arresting him. We may intervene, and we may take it from him and destroy it, but we're not giving some kid a criminal record for smoking a joint. "If they were arrested for something else, if there is violence involved, if the person has a criminal record and is breaching (bail) conditions, we may consider adding on that extra charge of possession." More than 27,000 people were charged with cannabis-related crimes in Canada last year. That's down slightly from 2014. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt