CITY POLICE FOLLOW POT RULING

For Now, At Least, No Charges For Simple Possession Are Being Laid

Local News - Greater Sudbury Police are following recent court rulings in
Ontario and are using discretion when it comes to possession of small
amounts of the drug.

In most cases, according to an police official, charges aren't being laid
for simple possession.

The federal government is on course to decriminalize pot possession, but
until new laws are passed, Ontario cops will follow recent Ontario court
decisions, said Staff Sgt. Todd Zimmerman of the criminal investigation
division.

Two decisions this year found that there are no laws forbidding the
possession of small amounts of marijuana and cases against those charged
with simple possession were thrown out.

"In Ontario it is no longer an offense for simple possession," said
Zimmerman. "Recent court decisions in Ontario are being appealed, but until
they are, simple possession is not an offense and police officers aren't
laying charges for it."

But Zimmerman said it is up to investigating officers to determine if other
criminal activity is linked to an incident of possession.

Trafficking or cultivating pot is a criminal offence and if evidence shows
that someone in possession of the drug is engaging in these activities,
charges will be laid.

"There is no black-and-white answer to the issue, but if there is no
evidence of cultivation or dealing, then the chances are you are not going
to be charged," he said.

Canada's confusing marijuana laws are made even more confusing by the fact
that federal legislation and provincial rulings are often at odds.

Simple possession remains a criminal offence federally, but if a provincial
judge rules that existing laws are unconstitutional, non-existent or
unnecessary, that judge's ruling becomes a precedent and is treated as law.

That is, until such time as the Crown appeals the decision in the Supreme
Court. "There may be one law for the whole country, but when a (provincial)
judge makes a decision, it is binding for the province it was made in,"
Zimmerman said.

"We don't make the law; we are obligated to enforce the law."

In January, Windsor Justice Douglas Phillips dismissed two drug charges
against a 16-year-old youth. In his ruling, he said parliament had failed
to address problems with Canada's marijuana laws.

On May 16, Justice Steven Rogin of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice
upheld Phillips' decision.

The decision effectively made existing federal laws governing simple
possession invalid.

The feds tabled legislation earlier this month that would decriminalize
possession, but still make it against the law and punishable with a fine
rather than a criminal conviction.