cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Offenders Can Seek Pardons





Marijuana Offenders Can Seek Pardons
Posted by CN Staff on June 03, 2003 at 10:07:36 PT
By Janice Tibbetts, The Ottawa Citizen 
Source: Ottawa Citizen 
The federal government is inviting as many as 600,000 Canadians who have criminal records for possessing small amounts of marijuana to apply for federal pardons.Justice officials offered the enticement yesterday as their political bosses introduced legislation to decriminalize possession of less than 15 grams of marijuana, so that people would be ticketed rather than slapped with a criminal record.
But if the Liberal bill becomes law, the government has no plans to grant a general amnesty, as recommended last year by a Senate committee that said Canada should legalize cannabis possession.Rather, people convicted of possession can send $50 and an application to the National Parole Board for their names to be cleared."It doesn't erase the fact that you've been convicted of a criminal offence, but it seals the record," explained board spokesman John Vandoremalen."It basically gives you privileges, it allows you to apply for jobs and things like that where the hurdles normally appear."The chances of being pardoned are excellent: only one to two per cent of applications are denied. As a result, the government has granted 277,000 pardons since 1970 and only three per cent have been revoked for reasons like lying on the application or having another brush with the law.Although there has been nothing up until now to prevent people convicted of marijuana possession from applying, not many people know about the program, said Mr. Vandoremalen.It can take up to five years to receive a pardon after a person applies, and a request cannot be made until three years after a person has completed their sentence or has otherwise fulfilled their penalty.It takes even longer for people convicted of more serious crimes in which the maximum penalty exceeds a $2,000 fine and six months in jail.Mr. Vandoremalen said that Canada's human rights laws do not allow employers to discriminate against people who have received pardons. However, they don't guarantee entry into other countries. Pardoned people, for instance, must make subsequent applications with U.S. authorities for travel to the United States, a prospect that could be problematic given the Bush administration's warnings about cracking down on people with drug convictions.The Canadian Centre for Drug Abuse estimates that as many as 600,000 Canadians have criminal records for marijuana possession, many from the 1960s and 1970s.Mr. Vandoremalen said he does not know how many pardons already have been granted for marijuana possession, since the government does not record a breakdown."I imagine there is a significant number," he said.Note: 600,000 could see privileges restored and records sealed. Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON) Author: Janice Tibbetts, The Ottawa Citizen Published: Wednesday, May 28, 2003Copyright: 2003 The Ottawa CitizenContact: letters thecitizen.southam.caWebsite: http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/ Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmNo Laws Ban Possession of Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16321.shtmlMarijuana Possession Law 'Erased' http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16320.shtmlPot Laws Unconstitutional: Lawyerhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15703.shtml
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