BILL HITS WRONG TARGET, SAY
POT ADVOCATES
Dr. Keith
Martin speaks out against Bill C-26 |
Protest against Bill C-26 in Victoria,
BC
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Published in the Victoria News, BC
21 Dec 2007
Don Descoteau
The smell of burning marijuana wafted briefly
through a small crowd gathered in the public library courtyard in downtown
Victoria. 
A dapper Ted Smith, decked out in a suit for the occasion, was largely
preaching to the converted when he spoke about the dangers of the
Conservative government’s plan to impose mandatory minimum sentences for
people convicted of trafficking even small amounts of illicit drugs,
including marijuana.
“It’ll scare a lot of them out of doing it and the people who will end
up doing it will be organized criminals,” Smith said.
During a Monday rally he quoted figures that under Bill C-26, which
proposes changes to the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, 400
more people would be imprisoned in B.C. alone. Such a scenario
would require another prison to be built, he said.
“I think the whole community will suffer if these laws come in, because
the court system and jails will get bogged down.”
The marijuana legalization advocate garnered the support of Victoria
NDP MP Denise Savoie and Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca Liberal MP Keith Martin in
calling for the bill to be altered.
Among other changes, the bill calls for a mandatory six-month jail
sentence for people convicted of possessing fewer than 201 plants for the
purpose of trafficking. The sentences increase based on the number
of plants seized and other factors, such as posing health or safety
hazards to youth or growing in a third party-owned residence.
Smith argues that the six-month sentences, particularly, unfairly
targets people who might be passing a couple of joints back and forth, or
the “mom and pop” growers who aren’t causing problems in the
community.
While he had yet to read the proposed amendments, Victoria police
Sgt. Grant Hamilton said in general the department will continue to
focus its resources in the areas that are going to have the biggest impact
on reducing the drug trade in the city, regardless of how the justice
system determines sentences.
“We’ve heard from the public that drug concerns are paramount,” he
said, “so we’ll continue to focus on trafficking in illicit drugs around
schools, the trafficker that is trafficking downtown that is a concern to
businesses or a person ( in a neighbourhood ) who is a concern to
residents.”
This week, Saanich-Gulf Islands Conservative MP and Natural Resources
Minister Gary Lunn said his government is addressing police frustration
with the justice system after they work hard to get an arrest and help
secure a conviction of a drug trafficker.
“We’re ensuring the police can deliver,” he said.
“We are taking a tough approach on the use of illegal drugs and
narcotics - anything we can do to get aggressive on crime and support the
police in their efforts to keep people from falling into the circle of
using drugs.”
Martin, who has advocated for the legalization of marijuana, admitted
that marijuana has harmful health effects, but regulating sales of the
drug would generate money to put into drug education in the schools, and
for enforcement against more serious drug crime issues.
“The poison pill on this bill is where you can throw somebody in jail
for having one plant and for selling or trading one or two joints to
somebody else, which could put a whole host of teenagers and young people
in jail. That doesn’t serve our community.”
For her part, Savoie said the bill does nothing to
curb drug use. The government needs to adopt a balanced structure
centred around harm reduction.
PROTEST TARGETS NEW MINIMUMS
Peninsula News Review, BC
21 Dec 2007
Cat
George
Protesters waved flags, shook signs and yelled questions outside
Saanich Gulf Islands MP Gary Lunn’s office in Sidney on Monday. One
even lit up a marijuana cigarette and had a few puffs.
The gathering was part of a national day of demonstration against the
proposed federal Bill C-26, which would raise mandatory minimum sentences
for cannabis ( marijuana ) offences, including cultivation and
trafficking.
“We think they’re spending too much on enforcement and prosecution of
drug offences,” said Anthony D’Agati of International Hempology 101
Society, a Victoria organization devoted to marijuana legalization through
education. “This just targets the low-end street dealers and puts a
lot of power in organized crime. It clogs up the court systems.”
At a similar rally in downtown Victoria, Ted Smith, founder of the
hempology society, expressed similar fears. “It’ll scare a lot of
them [dealers] out of doing it and the people who will end up doing it
will be organized criminals,” he said. He added that the court
systems and jails would be bogged down by an increase in charges and
longer sentences.
D’Agati told the crowd of about 10 protesters in Sidney the penalties
proposed for marijuana are similar to those proposed for trafficking in
metamphetamines, cocaine, and heroin. “It [the proposed cannabis
sentencing] is more than for firearms trafficking,” said D’Agati.
“It’s okay to traffic weapons, but if you grow over 500 [marijuana]
plants, it’s two years.”
“Someone who has two plants in the living room, gets the same time as a
guy who sells a gun? That’s pretty bizarre,” agreed Steve Bittner, another
protester. “If a guy is growing a plant for his aunty, he’s going to
get six months,” he added. “This is a step backwards.”
The mandatory sentences proposed in the bill include a six-month
sentence for anyone caught with a single plant for sale. Sentences
rise with more plants and a number of other factors, including growing in
a residential neighbourhood, growing at a rental property, or involving a
minor in any way. Smith said that the six-month sentences target
people who are passing a joint back and forth and small-time growers who
don’t cause problems in the community.
Lunn, who was not in his office during the protest, later said that the
government’s number-one priority is an aggressive approach to crime.
“It is something we feel strongly about,” he said. “With respect to
drugs, trafficking is a serious issue; people have been calling for
action.” He said that the government was working to support police in
their battle against drugs: “Anything we can do to get aggressive on
crime, and support the police in their efforts to keep people from falling
into the circle of using drugs.”
Lunn added that the police work hard to detain drug offenders only to
find their efforts frustrated in the justice system, something the new
bill would address.
Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca Liberal MP Keith Martin said he believed the
bill would be counterproductive. “The poison pill on this bill is
where you can throw somebody in jail for having one plant and for selling
or trading one or two joints to somebody else, which could put a whole
host of teenagers and young people in jail. That doesn’t serve our
community,” he said. Martin has advocated for the legalization of
marijuana in the past and said that while marijuana has harmful health
effects, regulating sales of the drug would generate money to put into
drug education and enforcement for more serious drug crimes.
D’Agati told the crowd in Sidney that the government spends over 30
times more on drug prosecution and enforcement than on prevention or
treatment, something that Victoria NDP MP Denise Savoie agreed with during
her speech at the downtown rally. She noted that the bill does
nothing to curb drug use and suggested the government adopt a structure
centred around harm reduction.
Local Kit Spence spoke about the cost of the proposed bill at the
Sidney protest. “Taxpayers should recognize the large drain on this
country,” he said, calling the bill a “black-and-white solution to a
complex and complicated problem.” He mentioned building and maintaining
prisons as just one cost of higher mandatory sentences.
“After 30 years of the war on drugs, it’s lost,” said Spence.
For a complete outline of Bill C-26, go to www.parl.gc.ca/LEGISINFO/ and search for Bill
C-26.
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