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B.C. rejects lower penalty for marijuana
By Hempology | December 12, 2002
From the Vancouver Sun, December 12th, 2002
By Jim Beatty
Victoria – British Columbia joined other provinces Wednesday in denouncing a controversial
federal plan to decriminalize the use of marijuana.
B.C. Solicitor-General Rich Coleman said there should be no softening of the law when it comes to
marijuana possession, claiming the pot industry results in murders, drug labs and illegal trade of
guns.
“In this province, marijuana is a serious problem. It is what fuels organized crime,” Coleman said
Wednesday. “To soften [the law] rather than trying to deal with the real problem … isn’t a good
public policy.”
Coleman said B.C. will continue to push for tougher sentences and drug laws despite Ottawa’s move to
decriminalize pot.
“I want us to go out and fight the war on drugs because it is hurting our kids, it’s hurting our
communities and it’s time we stood up to it. We’re going to do that.”
While police chiefs across Canada have advocated decriminalization, many provinces have rejected the
notion, including Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Officials in all provinces say pot decriminalization sends the wrong signal to the community and may
encourage use of the drug.
Justice Minister Martin Cauchon is expected to set a cutoff of 30 grams of marijuana – the equivialent
of 25 to 30 cigarettes – as the amount a person can possess without being criminally charged.
The ministed, who will likely introduce legislation early next years to decriminalize pot possession,
has chosen 30 grams because it is the amount already considered a lesser offence in the Criminal Code.
Thirty grams is just over one ounce in the imperial system of measurement and it can fit into one
small sandwhich bag.
The amount will be in keeping with a recommendation of a special House of Commons committee on illicit
drugs, which will issue a report today saying that Ottawa should decriminalize possession of marijuan when
less than 30 grams is involved.
The Canadian Centre for Substance Abuse supports decriminalization of small amounts of pot – and agrees
that 30 grams is the appropriate limit.
“It seems like a natural benchmark,” said communications director Richard Garlick.
As it now stands, possession of less than 30 grams is already considered a lesser criminal offence with a
maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Under Cuachon’s proposal people caught with less than 30 grams would be ticketed and not be subject
to a criminal record.
Randy White, a Canadian Alliance MP on the committee, said that 30 grams is a “stupid Liberal standard”.
He said five grams should be the limit, as it is in the Netherlands. “If you’re caught with up to 30
joints, that’s not personal possession, you’re in a schoolyard trying to pawn it off to kids,”
White said.
Marijuana possession is expected to be removed from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, where
penalties include a criminal record, and placed in the federal Contraventions Act, which governs
such things as driving on federal wharves and abandoning vessels in a public harbour.
People caught with under 30 grams of marijuana would get a ticket. The current maximum amount under
the Contraventions Act is $500, but there is no indication what the fine would be for marijuana
possession.
Coleman and other provincial leaders have raised the questions of how a marijuana fine would be collected.
Unlike traffic offences, where there are consequences linked to driving or insurance for failing to pay,
governments would have almost no leverage forcing people to pay marijuana possession tickets.
Coleman and other provincial leaders have raised the questions of how a marijuana fine would be collected.
Unlike traffic offences, where there are consequences linked to driving or insurance for failing to pay,
governments would have almost no leverage forcing people to pay marijuana possession tickets.
Coleman admitted that pot possession for personal use is effectively decriminalized already in B.C.
because overburdened police officers focus on more serious drug issues such as growing operations,
trafficking, cross-border trade and associated problems such as violence and weapons offences.
“There has been a de facto [decriminalization of pot in B.C.] because of the pressure on policing,”
Coleman said.
“But that doesn’t make it right.”
Cauchon revealed earlier this week that he intends to press ahead in the first four months of next
year with legalization to decriminalize marijuana because he says more than one million recreational
users in Canada should not be saddled with a criminal record. He stressed that, formally, he is still
awaiting a recommendation from a Commons committee on drug use. He has rejected legalization, saying
society still believes possession of the drug should carry some penalty.
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