By: Rosemary Akpan and Matthew Rodrigopulle
Marijuana legalization in Canada is just around the corner, but many convicted of possession in the past will still experience the consequences.
Recreational use of marijuana is set to be legalized in Canada by July 2018 and yet, the Government of Ontario is still enforcing charges for those found with possessing marijuana.
According to Statistics Canada, there were about 55,000 police-reported Controlled Drugs and Substances Act offences related to marijuana possession. This was about 58 per cent of the total offences.
So what will happen to those convicted of possession once the legislation is passed?
Will they receive pardon?
According to Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, until the new legislation has been enacted, police will continue to charge people for marijuana-related crimes.
“Until Parliament has enacted new legislation and new rules are in place to ensure that cannabis is carefully regulated, current laws remain in force and should be obeyed,” said Wilson-Raybould in a statement.
There is already a law pertaining to pardon for these convictions. Those convicted of simple possession of up to 30 grams of marijuana are eligible to apply for a pardon now known as a record suspension, however they may only do this five years after their sentence is completed. This rules out those with recent convictions.
Video by: Brittany Butler
Third-year journalism student Premila D’Sa personally knew a friend who dealt marijuana in high school and faced unfortunate consequences for it.
“He got caught and because of this, he actually got deported back to the States. It really sucks and since it’s going to be legal now, a major effect like deportation should be revoked,” said D’Sa.
Brad Poulos, a Cannabis business expert and instructor at Ryerson University, says people who have been convicted for marijuana possession should be pardoned.
“It should have never been illegal. Certainly anybody who was convicted of a non-violent possession offence or even a minor trafficking offence should be pardoned. It’s not as harmful as other crimes.”
Poulos also said pardoning people with convictions would be good for the cannabis industry. He said most of the knowledge in growing and distributing marijuana is in the grey market, with non-violent people.
“To lose all that knowledge would be a shame for the industry,” Poulos said.
According to open parliament, the passing of Bill C-45, the Cannabis Act, strives “to provide legal access to cannabis and to control and regulate its production, distribution and sale.”
The bill has laid out a number of rules, including the legal age for marijuana being 18, according to Global News. This age can be raised by provinces at their discretion. Ontario has made the legal age 19.
Bill C-45 received final approval in the House of Commons on Monday, with a vote of 200-82.
Grayden Kistemetry, a photography studies student at Ryerson University has experienced the ramifications of marijuana possession before.
“I’ve gotten a ticket for weed before. We were parked and smoking in my friends car and got ticketed,” Kistemetry said. “I had to pay $150 just for smoking and obviously my parents found out and were mad.”
Kistemetry, 18, said it’s unfair that people who have been convicted for marijuana possession in the past, which is something that won’t be considered a crime soon, will still be seen as a criminal on their record.
“When I got the ticket, I just thought ‘was it really worth it to charge me? There was nothing worse going on than a harmless act like smoking?’ There’s so many worse crimes out there but marijuana is still seen as one of the worst. It’s bullsh-t!”
Infographic by: Tait McGregor
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