While voters in two U.S. states chose to legalize marijuana Tuesday, the city’s drug strategy co-ordinator says it’s important for Canadians to realize tougher penalties for the drug came into effect at home on the same day.
Bill C-10, the federal government’s omnibus crime bill passed in March, came into effect Tuesday bringing with it a mandatory minimum sentence of six months for anyone with six or more plants in their possession for the purpose of trafficking.
Meanwhile, propositions in Washington and Colorado passed on the same day making the drug legal for recreational use and sale as early as next month.
Thunder Bay drug strategy co-ordinator Cynthia Olsen said the states still have a ways to go before they can legally smoke pot.
“They still have to navigate the whole federal law,” she said. “There’s still going to be a lot of work in those states to actually move it forward.”
The drug strategy is more concerned with convincing the Canadian federal government to withdraw or repeal mandatory minimums.
Olsen said out of 113,000 police-laid charges for drug offences in Canada, 54 per cent are for cannabis possession.
The controversial bill, known as the Safe Streets and Communities Act, has been slammed by activists, judges and lawmakers across North America saying that it’s costly and ineffective.
Ontario alone would be hit with $1 billion and 1,500 more inmates as a result of the legislation according to a statement by Community Safety and Correctional Services minister Madeleine Meilleur earlier this year.
Thunder Bay-based lawyer Neil McCartney said given that Canada’s policies seem to be heading in the opposite direction of places like Washington and Colorado, the federal government won’t be changing its mind on marijuana anytime soon.
“But it’s like Pierre Trudeau said, being the country next to the United States is like being in bed with an elephant. Every little thing that the U.S does has some ripple effect in Canada.”
He said it’s ironic that some states have chosen to legalize the drug given that decriminalization efforts in Canada were hamstrung because the federal government thought it would upset the U.S.
“That argument may be very much diminished given what just happened,” McCartney said.
Day-to-day, McCartney said federal Crown prosecutors locally have done a great job keeping first-time offenders with small amounts of pot out of the criminal justice system through diversion.
“If somebody comes to see me who is a first-time offender and has been charged with possession under an ounce, there’s a very strong chance that virtually right of the hop they’re going to be offered what we call diversion out of the criminal justice system,” McCartney said.
“If they’ll complete a certain number of hours of community service or make a charitable donation of $100 or $200, the charge would simply be withdrawn.”
Then there’s a police officer’s discretion not to charge someone with a small amount of pot. While Bill C-10 probably won’t change the enforcement of pot, it may make it more difficult to keep people out of the system McCartney said.
“I think it really will limit the degree to which we used to be able to find alternative and time and cost savings ways of dealing with smaller time marijuana cases we are probably going to be more limited in that regard.”
MP John Rafferty (NDP, Thunder Bay – Rainy River) said it’s ironic that the bill came into effect the same day that parts of the United States chose to legalize marijuana.
His main objection to the idea of mandatory minimums is that it takes decision making powers away from the independent judicial system.
“What happens ultimately is decisions are taken out of the hands of judges,” he said.
“Mandatory minimums tie their hands.”
Watching various proposition votes unfold in the U.S. Tuesday evening, Rafferty said he wants to see Canada to start having similar votes on a number of issues during election time.
“To have people voice their opinion through the polling booth I think it’s a good system they’ve got,” he said.
