600,000 COULD HAVE DRUG RECORDS ERASED

People Convicted Of Simple Possession Wouldn't Be Held Up At Border, Denied
Jobs

For those convicted of petty marijuana offences back in high school, the
most refreshing of the recommendations by the Senate committee report that
advised legalizing marijuana and hashish had to be the one that suggested
the government should erase the criminal records of those convicted of
simple possession.

The recommendation would see between 300,000 and 600,000 Canadians freed,
not only from the stigma of a drug conviction, but also from some very real
limitations.

Such people will theoretically be able to freely cross international
borders without fears of being held up or turned back.

However, the United States would also have to decide to ignore previous
convictions for that to work for people travelling there, said Carey
MacLellan, an Ottawa defence lawyer. Eugene Oscapella, a lawyer and
founding member of the Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy, agreed.

"If you have a criminal record, we've probably already shared that with the
Americans, so they may already have a database of Canadians with criminal
records for cannabis," said Mr. Oscapella said.

If Canada gets rid of those records and says previous offenders are deemed
never to have been charged or convicted of a drug offence, that should make
crossing a lot easier. But, as Mr. MacLellan pointed out, there's no reason
to believe the U.S. authorities -- who have a far less liberal view of drug
possession -- won't hold onto the information databases they already have.

In the meantime, those with newly erased criminal records for drug offences
won't have to worry about being discriminated against for certain jobs.

A criminal record "jeopardizes a possible job application and security
clearances," said Lawrence Greenspon, a defence lawyer in Ottawa. "Any
position of security, banking, real estate, stock brokering -- they'll ask
for a record check."

Mr. MacLellan said it's people who have lower paying jobs who end up being
most discriminated against when it comes to criminal records.

"The more complex the job application process, the less likely a drug
conviction is to be a problem," he said, adding that it's more likely to be
a problem for someone applying for a job at McDonald's than someone
applying for a position with a law firm.

Law students with drug-related convictions, can go through the motions of
studying for three years and completing their articling, but when they end
up at the bar, they're at the mercy of the board of governors. The board is
often forgiving of minor, drug-related records, but not always.

Volunteer positions will also open up for those whose records have
prevented them from becoming involved with organizations like Scouts Canada
and Big Brothers/Big Sisters that require clearance.

"Many organizations require proof from the police that you don't have a
criminal conviction," he said.

Mr. Greenspon said giving drug possessors criminal records takes away from
the impact of criminal records.

"Having a criminal record should be a serious, meaningful problem for a
person," he said. "To put 300,000 pot possessors in the same category as
people who properly have criminal records is excessive and way beyond
what's necessary."

For that reason, he said, this recommendation is an integral part of the
legalization package.