POT POSSESSION CHARGES ON HOLD

Cheech and Chong would be happy men in Peterborough now that local police
are loosening their hold on pot possession charges -- at least for the time
being.

Both Peterborough-Lakefield police and Peterborough County OPP refuse to
charge people with possession if nailed with less than 30 grams of pot.
Anything over that amount and possession for the purpose of trafficking
charges will be laid.

City police sergeant Rob Hotston says while it may seem police will look
the other way when coming across a person's stash, that's the furthest
thing from the truth.

"We will still seize the drugs and arrest the individual but they could be
released unconditionally," explains Sgt. Hotston.

"We're not turning a blind eye. Somewhere down the line we may be laying
charges."

He says the names of people found in possession of marijuana will be
recorded, adding when future legislation regarding pot possession is
passed, police will deal with them accordingly.

The OPP are treating pot possession charges the same way, says Senior
Constable Robert LaFreniere .

"Officers are to use their discretion," he adds.

"Charges may not be laid immediately."

Both police services are taking the same position as the Ontario
Association of Chiefs of Police. They came to a decision recently to put a
halt on possession charges.

Sgt. Hotston says a number of factors led to the decision, but the main
one, he adds, is the current court system.

Lately, possession charges have been thrown out of court and that is
wasting police resources, he says.

One high-profile case took place near Windsor. A young man, says Sgt.
Hotston, was arrested for possession and found not guilty by a judge.

The judge said the reasoning for his decision surrounded a gap in the
Controlled Drugs and Substance Act as well as the federal government's
constant talk of decriminalizing marijuana.

Decriminalizing doesn't mean marijuana will be legal but police may be
directed to issue a fine as opposed to a criminal charge.

Regardless, the uncertainty is putting police across the province between a
rock and hard place.

"If the courts are not willing to process charges, it places a burden on
our resources. It puts police in the province in the middle because the
(possession) law is still in place," says Sgt. Hotston.

"The law is the law until it's changed by Parliament, so we have to tread a
fine line."

He adds Peterborough police have not publicly stated an opinion about pot
laws in general.

He says it's not a police service's job to provide social commentary about
government decisions.

However, in an article that appeared in This Week last December, Chief
Terry McLaren said he was in favour of relaxing Canada's marijuana laws but
not in favour of complete legalization.

He added decriminalizing marijuana possession for small amounts would allow
his officers to focus their attention on more serious crimes. At the time,
about 98 per cent of the cases his front-line officers dealt with were for
marijuana possession.

In the meantime, Sgt. Hotston wants to assure citizens that officers will
still attempt to remove drugs from the streets.

"There's an expectation on the part of the public that we enforce the laws.
But in the general scheme of things, we have to deal with the reality of
the situation itself."

With files from Mike Lacey