Jump to content

canada keeps pot illegal


scott_harpell

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 8
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

The latest is that a case was before the Supreme Court, in which three people were appealing their convictions on the grounds that the possession laws violated their rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (constitutional guarantees similar to your Bill of Rights). The court ruled that the present laws are not unconstitutional, so they still stand. However, the police and lower courts have all but stopped enforcing the law. So we're still in a bit of a legal no-man's land. But the Martin government is apparently going to be introducing legislation early in the New Year that would greatly reduce the penalties for simple possession, effectively decriminalizing it, but not really. To paraphrase a past Prime Minister: "Decriminalization if necessary, but not necessarily decriminalization."

 

Hope that helps to muddify the fuzzification. wave.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think what you'll see under the new legislation is that the authorities will still basically ignore it, unless you're really being flagrant and stupid about it somehow. The biggest problem with the present situation is that a highly visible section of the Criminal Code is being routinely flouted, and everyone knows it, and no-one is going to do anything about it, and everyone knows that no-one is going to do anything about it. If that situation is allowed to continue, it can spill over into other areas, and undermine the legitimacy of the entire justice system. So rather than having police and courts routinely ignoring criminal offenses, it's better to down-grade the offence, so you just have police and courts ignoring minor offences. The consequences for the administration of justice are less serious that way, but you still don't have to take the politically risky step of out-right legalizing anything.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




×
×
  • Create New...