Pubdate: Sat, 26 Dec 2015
Source: Telegram, The (CN NF)
Copyright: 2015 The Telegram
Contact:  http://www.thetelegram.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/303
Author: Laura Kane
Page: A13

POLICING POSSESSION

As Liberals Prepare to Legalize Marijuana, Canadians Facing Pot 
Charges Left in Limbo

While Rose Miranda waits for her April court date to face potential 
charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking, the 65-year-old 
retired education assistant can't take cannabis for her arthritis.

Mounties have also banned her from visiting or contacting anyone at 
Phoenix Pain Management Society, the medical marijuana dispensary 
where she was volunteering when she was arrested in Nanaimo, B.C.

"I love Baby Trudeau, but he says, 'We're going to fix this.' When? 
Meanwhile, I have clients who don't have their medication," Miranda said.

"I take care of people who are housebound, people in wheelchairs and 
people who are poor. They need their medication and right now they 
can't access it."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has vowed to legalize and regulate 
marijuana, but no timeline is in sight. Meanwhile, cannabis-related 
crimes continue to tie up police and court resources, leaving some 
feeling like they're in legal limbo.

Miranda began using medical marijuana about two years ago, after 
prescription drugs turned her brain into "mush," she said. She began 
volunteering at Phoenix, primarily to educate seniors about cannabis 
as a pain-relief option.

Nanaimo RCMP raided three dispensaries, including Phoenix, on Dec. 1. 
Selling pot over the counter - whether medical or recreational - 
remains illegal in Canada, and Mounties sent warning letters weeks 
before executing search warrants.

"They came in like a SWAT team, guns out, 'Hands up!,' screaming, 
yelling, terrifying everybody who was in there," Miranda said.

She said police body-searched everyone, including an elderly 
volunteer with a cane, before handcuffing them and taking them to 
jail. There, she said, she sat in a freezing cell wearing only a 
cotton shirt and pants for more than 10 hours.

Two days later, she wound up in hospital with chest pains, she said.

Police professional

Const. Gary O'Brien of the Nanaimo RCMP said he couldn't comment 
directly on any dispensaries that were raided, but officers acted 
professionally at all times.

"I believe most of the scenes were videotaped, so if there's any 
evidence our police officers were (heavy-handed), that will certainly 
come out," he said.

O'Brien said there is evidence some stores were selling to minors, 
but he could not say which ones and the investigations are ongoing.

The RCMP's raids on B.C.'s pot shops are unusual. But across Canada, 
charges for cannabis possession remain relatively common and have 
increased over the past decade.

Last year, 24,542 people were charged with marijuana possession, up 
from 18,953 in 2004. Charges for the crime hit a peak in 2011, with 
27,997 people charged.

Simon Fraser University criminologist Neil Boyd found in a 2013 study 
that the Vancouver police rarely recommended charging individuals for 
cannabis possession as a singular offence, while the RCMP was mostly 
responsible for a two-fold increase in charges over a decade in B.C.

Boyd said the federal government should consider immediately 
decriminalizing possession for personal use, while it works out the 
details of legalization.

"It would send a message that we don't want law enforcement to be 
particularly focused on possession," he said. "I think it's a very 
small first step. We have tons of evidence globally that 
decriminalizing possession has no impact on rates of use or harms."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom