POLICE STILL ENFORCING MARIJUANA LAW, HOATH SAYS

Local News - Port Hope's police chief says the day-to-day routine hasn't
changed much for his officers since the Superior Court recently ruled that
laws against simple possession of marijuana are no longer valid.

"We will continue to enforce the law as it is written," Port Hope Police
Chief Ron Hoath said. "The officers will use discretion as to small amounts
of marijuana because of the (pending) Appeal Court rulings."

All police chiefs in the province have received similar instructions from
the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police. They are waiting, however, for
the outcome of the Department of Justice's appeal of the Superior Court
decision that possessing small amounts of marijuana is not a crime. The
Justice Department is arguing the current laws are valid.

A small amount of marijuana, as defined by the Superior Court, is less than
30 grams. That seems like a lot to Chief Hoath, who suggested half of that
is a more reasonable benchmark.

Officers will continue to lay charges for possession in the meantime, but
the court dates to process the charges will be set well in the future.
Charges may be dropped eventually if the Superior Court ruling stands, or
they may be followed through if the appeal is upheld.

Chief Hoath said he hopes and expects the appeal to be expedited as quickly
as possible, so police know where they stand.

"Hopefully this case is so high profile they will rush it through the
appeal system. There could be a backlog of thousands of cases if they
don't," he said. "We don't want to overload the courts with numerous cases,
but we will enforce the law."

As far as decriminalization of pot, Chief Hoath said he has seen similar
changes take place during his 30 years in policing. Once illegal, gambling
is now regulated by the government. Liquor laws have also changed
significantly. Decriminalizing marijuana is a similar change to adapt the
law to society, he said.

"You would have to be naive to not realize that there are a lot of casual
marijuana users are out there," Chief Hoath said. "You see these things
change, or evolve, and I think that is what is happening here."

If marijuana is decriminalized, officers will most likely still confiscate
it then issue a ticket for a fine, Chief Hoath said. But the infraction
would no longer be considered a criminal offence.