POLICE 'DRIFTING' AWAY FROM HARD LINE ON DRUG

Fewer And Fewer Marijuana Users Charged, Despite Official Call For
Strict Prohibition

Canadian police officers, who publicly oppose decriminalizing possession
of marijuana, are quietly backing away from pursuing charges despite
catching a growing number of people with the drug.

A statistical portrait of the 1990s shows that three times as many
Canadians avoided the justice system for marijuana possession in 1999
than in 1989, prompting an Ottawa criminologist to assert that there is
a "de facto drift toward decriminalization" of cannabis.

"My guess is that 10 years from now it will be decriminalized or become
some sort of provincial offence," said the University of Ottawa's Julian
Roberts.

"I think we're drifting in that direction. There are a number of straws
in the wind."

With a debate on decriminalization gathering steam, the Canadian Centre
for Justice Statistics provided figures this week after the Canadian
Police Association told a Senate committee on illicit drugs that
marijuana possession should remain a criminal offence.

The statistics indicate there is a patchwork of police action across the
country, where charges for marijuana possession depend largely on where
you live, with the difference sometimes being a matter of a few
kilometres.

Statistics for 1999, the last year in which figures are available, show
that police reported almost 40,000 cases of catching Canadians with
marijuana, but they did not pursue criminal charges in 13,500 cases,
roughly 34 per cent of the total.

A decade earlier, police caught 29,000 people with marijuana and pressed
charged in all but 4,700 cases, or 16 per cent.

Police in British Columbia were the most likely to turn a blind eye to
marijuana possession, pursing charges in only 17 per cent of cases in
1999, followed by Quebec, in which 55 per cent of people caught with
cannabis ended up in court.

On the other end of the spectrum, Ontarians caught with the drug were
charged 71 per cent of the time and Albertans in 67 per cent of cases.

Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan were the most likely to pursue
charges, in 78 per cent and 76 per cent of cases respectively.

Even within provinces, the rate of charges varies between
municipalities.

"This has always been a problem, and now it's a greater problem than it
has been, the uneven application of the law," said Neil Boyd, a
criminologist at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.

"Police officers have grown up with marijuana, most police officers
prior to joining the force have used marijuana, they're aware of the
debate in society, many are not interested in enforcing criminal
prohibitions."

The mellowing of the police force is due, in part, to changes in the
justice system in 1997 that led to alternative measures rather than
court, including sending people to educational courses or other
diversion programs, says a report on drugs compiled by the centre for
justice statistics.

David Griffin, executive director of the Canadian Police Association,
acknowledged that busy police officers might not think it's worth their
time to charge someone caught with "a small baggie of marijuana with
five or 10 grams." He described marijuana possession as a "low priority"
for police, who might react to catching someone with a joint by "just
scrubbing it into the ground."

Possession of cannabis is near the bottom of the list of the federal
government's crime statistics, which are ranked in order of police
priority.

The 30,000-member organization is at odds with both the Canadian
Association of Police Chiefs and the RCMP, which support
decriminalization of small amounts, saying it should warrant a fine akin
to a parking ticket rather than a criminal record.

Both Mr. Boyd and Mr. Roberts say it's not fair that an Ottawa resident,
for instance, should be saddled with a criminal record for running into
a police officer while carrying drugs, while a Vancouverite in the same
situation would be more likely to go free.

Fines of about $200 remain the most common punishment for drug
possession, the statistics show, although more than 1,000 Canadians
annually are still jailed for simple possession.

Mr. Boyd wants the federal government to decriminalize possession of
small amounts of cannabis. His sentiment, backed by several academics
and politicians, is to be studied by a House of Commons committee struck
two weeks ago to examine illicit drugs.

A recent survey conducted by University of Lethbridge sociologist Reg
Bibby indicated about half said they would support legalization,
compared to only one-quarter about 25 years ago.