Pubdate: Wed, 07 Nov 2012
Source: Metro (Vancouver, CN BC)
Copyright: 2012 Metro Canada
Contact:  http://www.metronews.ca/vancouver
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3775
Author: Emily Jackson

TOUGH NEW LAW IRKS MLA, POT SUPPORTERS

C-10. Federal bill's mandatory sentencing for serious drug crimes came
into effect on Tuesday

If you grow six marijuana plants, prepare to spend six months in the
slammer.

Canada's drug prohibition laws got tougher as a component of Bill C-10
came into effect Tuesday, legislation B.C. MLA and former police chief
Kash Heed dubbed "ridiculous" when it comes to marijuana.

The bill imposes harsher penalties and mandatory jail time for drug
offenders who participate in organized crime, sell drugs to or near
youth, and produce drugs where they could be a safety hazard to youth
or residents. While the law doesn't put mandatory penalties on simple
possession, it includes jail time for production of six to 200
marijuana plants and increases maximum sentences to 14 years.

This will "fog up our court system" by putting people in jail for
"such a ridiculous amount of marijuana," Heed said in an interview.

After 30 years in law enforcement, Heed is "dumbfounded" the
government isn't taking a balanced approach that focuses on demand
reduction as well as locking up gangsters.

"We will never arrest our way out of this particular problem," Heed
said. "Marijuana prohibition has not worked in Canada for many years,
and it will not work in Canada."

The Conservative government does not support legalization or
decriminalization, federal Ministry of Justice spokeswoman Julie Di
Mambro said in a statement. The bill targets criminals, she said.

"Criminal organizations that rely on the drug trade do not respect the
current penalties - they simply see them as the cost of doing
business," Di Mambro said.

The new sentencing laws won't necessarily change how Vancouver police
enforce drug crimes, Const. Brian Montague said.

But Dana Larsen of the Medical Cannabis Dispensary said his
organization could receive mandatory minimums for trafficking more
than three kilograms of cannabis.

"We rely on the tolerance of our community," he said. "If I was
elsewhere outside Vancouver, I'd be a little more nervous."
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