THROW DRUG TRAFFICKERS IN JAIL

The Canadian Professional Police Association is swimming against the tide
trying to persuade Ottawa to abandon its plans to decriminalize pot
possession.

Neither politicians, judges nor the public have the stomach to continue
burdening tens of thousands of people with criminal records every year for
smoking marijuana.

As Statistics Canada's latest justice figures show, police laid a record
number of drug-related charges in 2002. Three in four of the cases involved
pot - 72% of which were possession offences. Between 1992 and 2002, in fact,
cannabis offences soared by 80%, largely as a result of increased possession
charges.

Whether we like it or not, pot use has become ubiquitous among young
Canadians and labelling them as criminals for using a substance that is
safer than cigarettes is absurd.

So I don't think police agencies will make much headway convincing the
Liberals to drop Bill C-10, the resurrected legislation that proposes
decriminalizing the possession of less than 15 grams of pot.

But the Canadian Professional Police Association (CPPA) is right on the
money in one respect. Drug producers and traffickers are getting an easy
ride from our justice system.

The maximum sentences set out in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act for
drug cultivation, trafficking and importing are hefty but they are rarely
imposed. Sure, the toughest sentences ought to be reserved for the worst
offenders. But as the figures released this week suggest, these predators
get off pretty lightly.

In 2001-02, only 42% of adult drug traffickers received jail sentences. Even
worse, the mean prison term was only about seven months. It took longer for
the typical trafficking case to wind its way through the courts.

The mean fine for trafficking was a trifling $1,400. What kind of deterrent
is that for these scumbags?

The youth court penalties for trafficking are also shockingly lenient. Only
about one in five youths got jail time for the offence in 2001-02.

Edmonton criminal lawyer Karl Wilberg says it's not unusual for someone
caught growing a houseful of pot plants to get a conditional sentence.

A pot trafficker might get a conditional sentence of a short jail term, he
says. Even a typical dial-a-doper coke seller isn't likely to go to prison,
he adds.

Our courts appear to be sending a dangerous message to both young people and
adults: the government and the judicial system do not take drug cultivation
and trafficking seriously.

It's a source of immense frustration for cops, says CPPA president Tony
Cannavino. "(The penalties) are so low compared to the profits they're
making that it's worth taking the risk," he says.

Cannavino isn't impressed with Bill C-10's proposals, which would mean
longer jail terms for pot cultivation (from the current seven-year maximum
up to 14 years if more than 50 plants are involved.) "They could put in a
lifetime sentence and it wouldn't change a thing," he says, adding he'd like
to see minimum sentences.

That isn't likely to happen, however. Minimum sentences are rare in Canadian
law. Instead, says Wilberg, we have "judge-made minimums" based on case law.

Flipping through the Criminal Code yesterday (yes, I lead an exciting life),
I noticed there used to be a seven-year minimum term for illicit drug
importation. The Supreme Court quashed that provision in the 1980s.

Wilberg believes the best way to strike back at drug producers and sellers
is with our proceeds-of-crime law, which allows authorities to seize assets
believed to be connected to crime. "They're totally amoral and they sell
misery," he says of drug lords. "Their incentive is money so the key is to
take the profit out of it." Seizing their cars and homes and businesses is
the way to go, he believes. Yes, but a 20-year prison sentence would be
icing on the cake.