Possession of marijuana is a criminal offense under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. To obtain a conviction the Crown need only prove:
The accused had control of the marijuana - for example, the police found it on the accused or in an area controlled by the accused, such as a car, suitcase, or bedroom, and
The accused knew the marijuana was there - that can be proven indirectly, so, for example if marijuana is found in someone's sock draw it may be the judge will conclude they must have known it was there.
Marijuana possession is prosecuted; the law is no dead letter:
1.5 million Canadians have criminal records for simple possession.
Approximately 50,000 Canadians are arrested each year for crimes related to marijuana.
75% of drug-related criminal charges are related to marijuana.
65% of Canadians arrested for marijuana related crimes are for simple possession (under 30 grams of cannabis).
More than 30,000 Canadians are charged with simple possession annually - about 5% of these go to jail.
7 comments:
I wonder what the costs are on the system with thos numbers vs what the revenues for a citation?
"..More than 30,000 Canadians are charged with simple possession annually- about 5% of these go to jail."
How many more are not charged?
This implies that 1,500 people are jailed annually (5% of 30,000) for possession. How much time are they doing on average?
I'd bet though, that this 5% are also doing time for more serious crimes, such as trafficking, selling to minors, threats etc.
If 1.5 million Canadians have a criminal record for possession it follows that many times that number are regular users. It could be that 10-20% of adults in this country are regularly smoking cannabis.
This stat would indicate that there is a severe problem with work safety in all sectors of society. Judges, lawyers, mechanics, bus drivers,teachers, cops, construction workers etc. are all among the habitual users and are a huge risk to public and personal safety.
There is a much bigger problem than a 1500/year people doing some time in the joint.
Get your head out of the sand and recognize that the legal implications are only a tiny snippet of the problem of the drug culture.
Marijuana is a gateway drug to cocaine, heroin and LSD. It leads to abortion, wife beating and child molesting. We should follow what they do in Asia and really punish the crime. Hang a few users and that would end all the nonsense.
Anon #2 -- your point is reasonable. But surely the affect of alcohol, totally legal in most of Canada, is as bad or worse? Isn't it hypocracy to make one drug a crime and the other legit? Anon #3 -- are you being serious or are you being scarastic? Seriously, marijuana is not a "good" thing -- no drug (and I include alcohol) is a "good" thing -- but it does not lead to violence (it may lead to imapired driving as #2 says but violence not)
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I haven't actually seen a good argument against legalizing and licensing marijuana.
It seems that legalizing would make it less accessible to minors -- believe it or not.
Also, with respect to gateway drugs, I'd be much more leery of alcohol. It impedes decision making and reasoning ability in a way that would greatly reduce a drinkers resolve in the face of opportunity.
Possession of Marijuana is a criminal activity and most commonly consider as a illegal drug in the United States.
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