CROWN SAYS DEALER DESERVES 'REAL JAIL'

Those who sell marijuana are as much a problem for society as those who
grow it, a provincial court judge was told Friday.

Federal Crown prosecutor Anthony Varesi made the comments during the
sentence hearing of Douglas Yzereef, who was convicted of possession of
marijuana for the purpose of trafficking and trafficking.

Varesi asked the court to send Yzereef to "real jail" for six to eight
months, noting Canada's Supreme Court has recently said trafficking
marijuana remains a serious offence.

Yzereef was charged after being snared in a small RCMP undercover
operation. He was contacted by an officer posing as a drug buyer, and
agreed to sell drugs.

He was caught with a small baggie.

Varesi said Canada's highest court has clearly indicated trafficking is a
serious matter, on par with production of pot itself.

"This is an indictable matter," said Varesi. "In the Crown's submission,
the sellers of marijuana are as culpable as growers. "They need people like
Mr. Yzereef to distribute at the street level."

But Judge Hermann Rohrmoser questioned the need for so lengthy a jail
sentence considering higher courts have overturned jail terms for growers
and imposed conditional sentences.

"I'm just trying to rationalize the sentencing process here," he said. "I'm
not saying trafficking isn't serious, it certainly is. But jail for six to
eight months? How does that stack up against conditional sentences for
larger grow-ops?"

Varesi said jail in this case is as much a response to Yzereef's criminal
history as it is an answer to the offence. He said the man has been handed
both probation and a conditional sentence in the past, for offences
unrelated to drugs.

"It hasn't succeeded in rehabilitating him. Given that, a jail sentence is
appropriate," said Varesi.

Defence lawyer Don Campbell said the evidence suggests Yzereef may have
been lured by police into trafficking. As well, the quantity of marijuana
found with Yzereef was small, only about seven grams.

The judge rejected such suggestions, however, noting it's common for
traffickers to say they've been entrapped by police when caught in such
fashion.

Rohrmoser concluded jail was appropriate and handed Yzereef a 30-day jail
sentence to be served intermittently on successive weekends.

Yzereef was ordered to report to the Kamloops Regional Correctional
sentence on New Year's Eve to serve the first weekend.

"The word has to be out there that there will be a serious penalty for
trafficking marijuana, said Rohrmoser.

Yzereef was also banned from having firearms for 10 years.