TICKET POT SMOKERS TO KEEP COURTS CLEAR

Ticketing for marijuana possession rather than tying up courts with charges
deserves study, says Alberta's justice minister.

"If it became a problem in terms of resource utilization, I'm always
looking at ways of how we can streamline the process which maintains the
emphasis on the offence but doesn't use court time unnecessarily and
doesn't use police resources unnecessarily," said Dave Hancock, who added
that he's never smoked marijuana.

"There's a number of things you could look at in terms of reform. If you
had a minor possession charge, perhaps it's something that could be
ticketed rather than involving a court appearance.

"That doesn't take away from the question of the seriousness of cracking
down on drugs. But you could think about ways to reform the system so it
didn't take an abundance of resources to deal with the small end of the story."

Kirk MacDonald, an Edmonton criminal lawyer, favours ticketing for minor
marijuana possession because of the strain charges puts on the system.

For every seizure, police must send a sample to a federal lab in either
Vancouver or Eastern Canada, a technician must test it and certify it is a
controlled substance. That certificate must come back and be served on the
accused.

"Let's not saddle people with a criminal record for small amounts of
marijuana," said MacDonald.

But Hancock cautioned that he doesn't want to give the impression he
condones even minor drug use. In fact, he considers it a major part of a
huge drug trafficking problem.

"It's part of large drug trade. I'm not an expert, but there's some feeling
the strains of marijuana now are stronger than they used to be and in fact
they're used as a method of introducing people to illicit drugs and perhaps
moving them up."

MacDonald said it's an innocuous drug.

"Ask any criminal lawyer if at any time if you've ever had any one do B&Es
to support a marijuana habit. No," said MacDonald. "Ask if you've ever had
anyone who has a client who gets violent when he smokes marijuana. No."

Liberal justice critic Sue Olsen, an ex-police officer, would be in favour
of ticketing.

"I think if it's a simple possession charge then the reality can be struck
home (through ticketing), but you're not then preventing people who make a
foolish error of judgment in their youth (as they grow older and wiser)
from working internationally or holidaying in other countries," said Olsen,
who admits experimenting with marijuana in her youth.