POT STILL POPULAR

Marijuana possession charges may make up the bulk of drug offences in Grande
Prairie and across Canada, but local Mounties say they aren't wasting time
chasing after recreational pot smokers.

Statistics Canada numbers released last week show marijuana charges make up
the bulk of drug charges laid in Canada.

In 2002 police across the country reported 93,000 drug incidents.

Of those, a full 75 per cent were marijuana related.

Cocaine incidents came in a distant second at about 12 per cent, with the
spectrum of other illegal drugs rounding out the remainder.

In Grande Prairie, the ratio of marijuana to other drug charges is somewhat
closer, but pot still accounts for the bulk of charges laid, according to
numbers from the Grande Prairie RCMP.

In 2003 police in the city laid 205 charges for possession of small amounts
of marijuana.

By comparison, only 62 charges for possession of small amounts of cocaine
were laid in the same year.

While critics of marijuana enforcement have argued decriminalizing
possession of small amounts of pot would free up millions of dollars and
thousands of police hours, a Grande Prairie RCMP spokesman said local
officers dedicate little time to specifically seeking out small-time pot
users.

But with marijuana use so common, officers often wind up coming across it
during traffic stops, when executing search warrants, or during other
criminal investigations.

"Because marijuana is so prevalent, in a lot of our arrests we come across
it just in the course of our duties," said Cpl. Brent Mundle of the Grande
Prairie RCMP. "And when we do find it, we lay charges."

Mundle said the detachment's two-member drug squad doesn't waste their time
with small-time marijuana users, focusing instead on marijuana traffickers
or the so-called "hard" drugs.

"Our drug enforcement section works more towards cocaine and
methamphetamines, the more serious drugs," said Mundle.

"The majority of our resources go into investigating either large-scale
marijuana trafficking or harder drugs."

A bill to decriminalize possession of marijuana for personal use - less than
15 grams - is being debated in Ottawa.

Instead of a criminal record for drug possession, offenders would receive a
fine much like a speeding ticket.

Criminal penalties for growers or traffickers would remain.

Local statistics also reflect the same upward trend in drug activity as the
Stats Can report shows in the rest of the country.

Drug incidents in Canada in 2002 were up 42 per cent from a decade before.

The number of drug possession charges has been rising locally as well,
shooting up by nearly 50 per cent between 2002 and 2003.

"We'd have to agree with (that trend) here in Grande Prairie. The city is
growing and the larger the city gets those kinds of offences are going to
increase as well," said RCMP spokesman Jim Hendry.

Stats Can also reported that about one in 10 homicides in Canada between
1992-2002 involved drug trafficking or drug-related debts.

In 60 per cent of those killings, the drug involved was cocaine. Marijuana
was involved in 20 per cent of drug-related killings.