Pubdate: Wed, 02 Dec 2015
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Copyright: 2015 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.ottawacitizen.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
Author: Kelly Egan
Page: A1

LOONIE FINE NOT SO CRAZY IN POT-FRIENDLY TIMES

One day last week, the main Gatineau courthouse was buzzing with a 
judge's ruling, a loonie sentence that says much about marijuana's 
road to respectability.

A man was before Justice Pierre Chevalier charged with cultivating 30 
pot plants. The Crown was looking for a sentence of 90 days in jail.

The judge had a different idea. He fined the accused, Mario Larouche, 
$1, throwing in a victim surcharge of 30 cents.

Justice Chevalier called Canada's cannabis laws "outdated and 
ridiculous" and pointed directly at the intentions of the new Liberal 
government of Justin Trudeau to legalize and regulate the use of marijuana.

And he was just getting warmed up.

Was it not true, he mused, that about half of Canadians had tried 
marijuana, including a number of lawyers, possibly even judges? Are 
we to think they have committed criminal acts and should end up with records?

So Larouche, 46, beat the rap with a buck. Aiding his case, perhaps, 
is the fact he is trying to obtain a medical exemption to grow and 
use marijuana to cope with injuries suffered in a traffic accident in 2000.

Well, we're on Planet Justin since Oct. 19, aren't we, where you 
smoke 'em if you got 'em. Contrast this with the approach of the 
Harper government, which changed the federal law so that cultivating 
more than sixmarijuana plants for the purpose of trafficking carries 
a minimum sentence of six months in jail.

Defence lawyer Catherine Barriere Gratton said her client was pleased 
with the fine, which followed a guilty plea.

"He was happy with the situation. He was ready for jail."

Seized from her client's truck in June, she described them as "baby 
plants" that were maybe three inches tall and had yet to be set up in 
Larouche's home. He uses the marijuana to help with chronic pain and 
to aid sleeping, she said.

One of the fundamental principles you hear judges emphasize at 
sentencing is "denunciation."

But a wee problem, which the judge put his finger on: How is the 
court to denounce a criminal act that legislators themselves have 
signalled is not on ly not a crime, but soon to be a legal, regulated 
activity; indeed one with accepted health benefits?

In other words, how is a criminal sentence supposed to reflect 
community standards when those standards are going from black to 
white overnight?

Eugene Oscapella, is a University of Ottawa professor experienced in 
the area of drug policy. He, too, heard about the judgment.

"It's unusual for judges to speak out that dramatically," he said 
Tuesday. "I suspect the judge is saying out loud what many other 
judges are muttering under their breath."

He pointed out how unevenly the law is applied across Canada when it 
comes to marijuana possession. In many big Canadian cities, simple 
possession of small amounts will not result in criminal prosecution. 
In smaller towns, it might.

Statistics Canada reported that Kelowna, B.C., had the highest rate 
of pot possession charges in 2014, but Gatineau was second. Ottawa, 
meanwhile, was below the national average and only about a quarter of 
the Gatineau rate (52 versus 188, per 100,000 people).

"There are huge consequences for an individual," said Oscapella, 
referring to the burden of a criminal record.

"If we're trying to be respectful of Canadians, why are we putting 
this millstone around their necks that will prevent from travelling 
or getting certain forms employment? It makes no sense."

He wondered why the attorney general of Canada doesn't simply order 
its prosecutors to stop pursuing possession charges until new 
legislation or legalization is brought about.

Ottawa defence lawyer Mark Ertel said charges for simple possession 
of small amounts of pot hardly get to court anymore, unlike the 
approach 20 or 30 years ago.

"They used to send undercover police officers down to the (By Ward) 
Market to buy a gram of marijuana and bust him for trafficking. I 
haven't personally seen one of those for 10 years."

Part of the issue is resources, he said - both police and prosecutors.

"For the most part, I don't think it's being charged or prosecuted 
because they just can't afford it. It costs thousands of dollars to 
prosecute someone so that, what, they get an absolute discharge in court?"

Things are changing so quickly with regard to legal attitudes around 
marijuana, he added: "The guy might not even be selling an illegal 
substance by the time (the case) gets to court, right?"

The federal government has yet to announce a timetable for change. 
But its election platform promises a task force to review issues 
around access, taxation and distribution and a pledge to keep the 
drug away from children, while breaking criminal gang involvement.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom