cannabisnews.com: RCMP Still in Pot Biz





RCMP Still in Pot Biz
Posted by CN Staff on July 22, 2003 at 09:01:25 PT
By Tom Godfrey -- Sun Media
Source: Canadian Online Explorer 
Toronto -- Pearson airport drug cops say they won't follow Toronto police's lead and not charge travellers entering the country with small amounts of marijuana. The RCMP and Canada Customs officials said yesterday they'll continue laying smuggling charges against travellers with less than 30 grams of pot until Parliament rules to decriminalize marijuana. "There are ongoing discussions to determine if we will lay charges for small amounts of marijuana in the future," Const. Howard Adams said. 
Adams said charges for small amounts of pot will be laid and prosecuted until his force receives further notice. "Things are subject to change," he said. "We will be prosecuting as normal until then." Toronto police have stopped laying charges for amounts of pot under 30 grams due to May's Superior Court ruling striking down the law on simple possession. Toronto cops will document incidents in case charges are to be laid afterwards. Customs spokesman Sam Papadopoulos said a bulletin was sent to officers nationwide last week reminding them to seize and hold for police those found with drugs. "Until the law changes, we will continue to apply the laws at the border," Papadopoulos said. The Mounties and Customs lay hundreds of charges a year for small amounts of marijuana at Canada's airports, seaports and land borders. The suspects are charged for importing a controlled substance and thrown in jail until freed on bail. They are then red-flagged by Customs for secondary checks. Under the proposed decriminalization of marijuana, the maximum fine for 15 grams or less of pot would range from $100 to $250 for those under 18, $150 to $400 for adults. The issue is expected to be decided by Parliament sometime this year. Note: Charges for simple possession. Source: Canadian Online Explorer (Canada Web)Author: Tom Godfrey -- Sun MediaPublished: Tuesday, July 22, 2003Copyright: 2003 Canoe Limited PartnershipContact: editor sunpub.comWebsite: http://www.canoe.ca/Related Articles:Police Advised To Delay Pot Possession Charges http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16551.shtmlNo Laws Ban Possession of Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16321.shtmlMarijuana Legal in Ontario http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16326.shtml 
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Comment #5 posted by escapegoat on July 24, 2003 at 07:06:51 PT
Legalization has brought weed shortages!
I can tell you what the end of Ontario prohibition has done for pot: there is a severe shortage, since EVERYONE is coming out of the closet! It's getting to be like BC here, and that's wonderful!Also couldn't have happened at a worse time, just as we're getting down to the dregs of last's year's volume outdoor.
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Comment #4 posted by John Markes on July 23, 2003 at 06:57:54 PT
False Arrest
Everyone arrested for a cannabis offense should file for false arrest and sue. That would get their attention a lot faster...
http://www.ardpark.org
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Comment #3 posted by GentleGiant on July 22, 2003 at 12:44:33 PT:
Make a note: Tell officers there's no law for weed
Did someone forget to tell these law enforcement people that they don't have a 'simple possession of marijuana' law anymore. These people just won't believe in the evitable.
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Comment #2 posted by afterburner on July 22, 2003 at 10:28:51 PT:
Importation of a Legal 'Product' Is Not Prohibited
The suspects are charged for importing a controlled substance and thrown in jail until freed on bail. Cannabis (marijuana) has been struck from Schedule II in Canada, the only way to implement removing cannabis "possession" from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which means "trafficking" is now legal selling, and "cultivation" is now legal gardening. Therefore, cannabis is no longer a controlled substance. This is a Federal law for which cannabis is "no offense known to law." Although three provinces have endorsed the nullification (Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island), by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, equal protection under the law applies to all Canadian provinces and territories. The law is Federal, so the nullification is Federal. The RCMP are breaking the law. Shame on them! What kind of message does this send to the children! US citizens, don't try to run the blockade unless you are prepared for a court challenge. Even then, since cannabis is still illegal is the good old USA, you would be on very shaky ground indeed.ego transcendence follows ego destruction, the USA has not accepted legal use in other countries, don't jeopardize your US freedom.
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Comment #1 posted by Virgil on July 22, 2003 at 09:44:28 PT
Do something else stupid
Now just how many people are going to smuggle cannabis into Ontario when all systems there are on grow?I still wonder what the fall of prohibition has done to prices and distribution channels. Why do we not here about it on restaurant menus and why not cannabis muffins for breakfast and special pizza for lunch? All this information is surface material that cannot be kept hush. What is happening in people's minds and in their lives and in their diets. Looking for pot coming in at the airport seems as rewarding as Jamaica looking for snowballs. It just seems to show hate to document something that might somehow retroactively become a crime.Yesterday, the Senate committe on Drugs with Souder and company addressed the issue of meth. Cannabis prohibition only makes the ice problem worse as it is the ideal recreational herbal plant. Look what happened with the meth problem in Hawaii when they cracked down on cannabis. Look what happened to Nepal with heroin when Nixon paid $50 million to have the last legal cannabis nation join the prohibitionist insanity. I think of Souder and Ashcroft being depicted on Saturday Night Live doing some research on Quebec Gold somewhere in Ontario. Out of 535 Congressmen you would think one of them would have enough combination of patriotism and leadership to go to Ontario and blow the prohibitionist stance out into the open. McCarthy got his when his hunted prey ask him if he had no shame. The question now is how much shame will the people stand from Congress. It is time to clear House and the Senate too. It is totally disgraceful. 
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