cannabisnews.com: Vancouver: The Next Amsterdam





Vancouver: The Next Amsterdam
Posted by FoM on May 26, 2001 at 08:25:56 PT
By Chad Skelton, Vancouver Sun 
Source: Vancouver Sun
Vancouver is emerging as Canada's own Amsterdam, a place where it is almost rare for people to face criminal penalties for simple possession of marijuana. And compared with other Canadian provinces, B.C. is reaching a state of virtual decriminalization, statistics compiled by The Vancouver Sun show. Statistics compiled by The Vancouver Sun show police in B.C. are generally far more tolerant of marijuana use than anywhere else in the country. 
B.C. had more reported "incidents" of marijuana possession in 1999 -- 10,094 -- than any province in the country except Ontario, and the highest rate per-capita. But unlike every other province, police seldom pursue charges for possession in B.C. And those charged with possession in B.C. almost never get to court. Only 17.2 per cent of all reported incidents of marijuana possession in B.C. lead to a charge, compared to a high of 70.8 per cent in Ontario. Even in Quebec, the province with the second-lowest rate of possession charges after B.C., 55.2 per cent of reported incidents end up in court. Most cases of marijuana possession in B.C. are handled outside the court system, usually through "no-case seizures" where police seize and destroy the marijuana they find and write up a report, but do not recommend charges. But the approach to the drug varies widely from city to city. Police in Victoria, for example, charge marijuana users at a rate more than eight times higher than those in Vancouver. There are an estimated 350,000 regular marijuana users in B.C., yet only 1,739 people were charged with pot possession in 1999. In fact, based on estimates of the marijuana-using population from Statistics Canada, the chance of a pot smoker being caught in Ontario is almost five times higher than in B.C. The reluctance of police to lay charges here is not surprising. John Conroy, an Abbotsford lawyer who specializes in marijuana cases, said the courts in B.C. treat those convicted of marijuana possession very leniently. Most of his clients, he said, don't even get a criminal record. "I always shoot for an absolute or conditional discharge on simple possession," he said. "And I usually get it." But B.C.'s over-all leniency masks sharp differences between different police forces. "In the downtown core of Vancouver, you can smoke a joint on the street and no one's going to care," said Dana Larsen, editor of the magazine Cannabis Culture. "In other areas -- you're more likely to be charged." Statistics compiled by The Sun suggest Larsen may be right. Vancouver police only charged 74 people with possession of marijuana in 1999. In a city of half a million, that works out to a rate of only 13.34 charges per 100,000 residents. Every other major city in the Lower Mainland -- except Coquitlam -- had a per-capita rate of marijuana charges almost twice as high as Vancouver's. Vancouver police spokesman Detective Scott Driemel said the department does not have a set policy when it comes to marijuana possession. "We don't have a policy saying you do not charge or you do charge," he said. But he added simple possession of marijuana is not a high priority for the department. "We don't go out actively looking for simple possession cases," he said. "We're trying to focus more on the trafficking and the cultivation." Among major Lower Mainland cities, the city with the highest per-capita rate of marijuana charges is North Vancouver, with 47.41 per 100,000 residents -- more than three times as high as in Vancouver. Constable Dan Guilfoyle, spokesman for North Vancouver RCMP, said police there do use their discretion when people are found with very small amounts of marijuana. "The priority of our detachment would be high level activity," he said. "[But] we still do make arrests and charge for possession of marijuana." B.C.'s "virtual decriminalization" is least in evidence outside the Lower Mainland. Prince George RCMP had 48.18 charges per 100,000 residents in 1999, Kelowna 42.11 and Victoria 112.98 -- more than eight times as high as in Vancouver. Last week, parliamentarians in Ottawa took significant steps towards re-evaluating the laws against marijuana in Canada. The House of Commons passed a unanimous motion to create a committee to examine non-medical drugs. Progressive Conservative leader Joe Clark came out in support of decriminalization, saying young pot users should not be burdened by a criminal record for the rest of their life. And Health Minister Allan Rock said Canada was in need of a "full and frank discussion" about its marijuana laws to make sure they "fit current times and needs." "In terms of police enforcement, I'm not sure a lot would change with simple decriminalization," said Neil Boyd, a criminologist at Simon Fraser University who specializes in drug policy. But it is an uneasy truce. The uneven enforcement of marijuana laws remains a concern. "There might be, in certain parts of Vancouver, a virtual decriminalization," said Boyd. "But the problem is the uneven application of the law. Some officers charge everyone they come in contact with. Some will just tell you to move on." B.C. has the lowest rate of marijuana possession charges in the country, but every year more than 1,500 people in B.C. are still charged with pot possession. Jail terms for those convicted of simple possession are virtually unheard of. But some are given criminal records that can prevent them from getting a job or travelling abroad. "We're not Amsterdam," says Conroy. "We're getting close to that but we're not there, because there are still police charging people." John Russell, vice-president of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, says B.C.'s partial decriminalization raises serious concerns over fairness. "In effect, it means that some types of behaviour will get you a criminal record in some jurisdictions and it won't in others," he said. "The criminal law was created in Canada to enforce a certain set of laws equally across the country -- so it undermines the principle of equality before the law." And in B.C. especially, where marijuana charges are so rare, those that are charged may be unfairly singled out. "Criminal laws on the books that are not enforced . . . can be used to harass people that the police don't like," Russell said. "Selective enforcement of laws can lead to abuse of police powers by, in effect, police deciding to use these laws to make life difficult for individuals they don't like for some reason or other." But Russell admits police are in a difficult spot. Statistics compiled by the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics in 1997 found the average Vancouver police officer has a case load more than twice as large as his counterparts in Toronto and Montreal. With one of the worst hard drug problems in the developed world -- and the highest property crime rate in Canada -- it is hard for Vancouver police to justify devoting police time and money to busting people for simple marijuana possession. "In principle, you don't want police making these sort of judgments about what laws should be enforced. . . . It's something we should be wary of," Russell said. "But in practice, police have to make decisions about where they're going to spend their limited law enforcement resources best to try and preserve security of the community. And enforcement of marijuana laws is not the place to look if you're trying to make the country a safer place for its citizens." The lenient attitude of B.C. cops towards marijuana is understandable. "There's no other criminal offence that has a minority of public support," said Boyd. "We're putting police officers in a very dangerous position with regard to enforcement." But selective enforcement creates injustices of its own, some say. "A lot of people think you don't get busted for simple possession anymore in B.C.," said Conroy. "It creates a lot of uncertainty." Which is why people like Boyd, Conroy and Russell believe Ottawa needs to move towards decriminalization, or legalization, to simplify the current maze of informal police policies and procedures. "I think we need to give police clear rules about how to respond to the use of this drug," Boyd said. When it comes to marijuana, B.C. is truly a world apart. In a health survey conducted by Statistics Canada in 1994, 12 per cent of British Columbians said they had smoked marijuana at least once in the past year, the highest rate in the country and almost twice the national average (seven per cent). The rate is even higher among young people. A 1999 survey of B.C. teens found 40 per cent had tried marijuana at least once, up from 25 per cent in 1992. B.C. also has little tolerance for existing laws against the drug. A Gallup poll in March of this year found 76 per cent of B.C. residents believed possession of small amounts of pot should not be a crime (half of those thought possession should only carry a fine, half that it should carry no penalty at all). Only Quebec residents -- at 83 per cent -- were more opposed to existing pot laws. But while B.C. residents have lenient attitudes towards marijuana use, they take a much tougher line with growing marijuana -- which many associate with organized crime. A Vancouver Sun poll conducted two years ago found 42 per cent of Vancouver residents believed existing penalties for growing marijuana were too lenient. Only 17 per cent thought the penalties were too severe. HOW PROVINCES RATE ON POT CHARGES: Share of possession of cannabis incidents that lead to charges, 1999 (Those not charged include cases diverted out of the courts and seizures without charges.) Prov Incidents Charges % B.C. 10,094 1,739 17.2% Alberta 2,837 1,909 67.3% Sask. 1,348 1,026 76.1% Manitoba 995 664 66.7% Ontario 14,214 10,057 70.8% Quebec 6,817 3,762 55.2% N.B. 1,091 680 62.3% N.S. 1,152 720 62.5% P.E.I. 121 94 77.7% Nfld. 570 324 56.8% Source: Statistics Canada Possession charges vs marijuana users estimated charges per charges per Province % users # users # charges 100,000 pop 1,000 marijuana users B.C. 12% 352,680 1,739 43.23 4.93 Alberta 8% 165,840 1,909 64.39 11.51 Sask. 7% 53,690 1,026 99.83 19.11 Manitoba 9% 78,660 664 58.07 8.44 Ontario 5% 433,650 10,057 87.35 23.19 Quebec 9% 521,640 3,762 51.22 7.21 N.B. 6% 36,180 680 90.07 18.79 N.S. 8% 59,440 720 76.61 12.11 Nfld. 4% 18,320 324 59.89 17.69 (The sample size for P.E.I. was too small to include in the Alcohol and Drug survey) Sources: % of users: 1994 Statistics Canada Alcohol and Drug Survey, Est # of users: Based on Statistics Canada's 15+ population estimates for 1994; # charges: Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, 1999 figures Possession of marijuana charges per capita for B.C. municipalities, 1999 City Charges Pop. Charges per 100,000 residents Victoria 86 76,121 112.98 Prince George 39 80,943 48.18 North Vancouver* 62 130,768 47.41 Kelowna 41 97,372 42.11 Surrey 89 332,836 26.70 Burnaby 48 189,513 25.33 Delta 23 101,202 22.73 Richmond 34 162,245 20.96 Coquitlam 16 110,633 14.41 Vancouver 74 554,900 13.34 * City and district Source: Statistics Canada, Police Services Division Note: Marijuana possession charges are rarer here than rest of Canada. "There might be, in certain parts of Vancouver, a virtual decriminalization. But the problem is the uneven application of the law. Some officers charge everyone they come in contact with. Some will just tell you to move on." - Neil Boyd, Criminologist, Simon Fraser UniversitySource: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)Author: Chad Skelton, Vancouver Sun Published: Saturday May 26, 2001 Copyright: The Vancouver Sun 2001Contact: sunletters pacpress.southam.caWebsite: http://www.vancouversun.com/Related Articles:Rock Open To Debate on Pot Legalizationhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9851.shtmlEditorial: Drive-Thru Highs http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9648.shtmlAmsterdam's Smokin' Coffee Shops http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8031.shtml 
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Comment #2 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on May 26, 2001 at 13:23:59 PT:
Solutions
Vancouver is a fantastic place, that could be a temperate paradise with a few European-style changes in the law.Their tolerance of cannabis is admirable, but there is a pervasive problem with heroin addiction. This leads to problems. The last time we were there, we made the mistake of leaving our car in the hotel parking lot instead of the garage, and some unemployed addict (I assume), broke a window to steal some CD's for the money.Should Vancouver institute legalization of heroin, and have medical clinics similar to those in Switzerland, this problem would disappear. A marked decrease in petty crime would result along with higher employment, less AIDS, Hepatitis C, and other by-products of the War on Drugs.From a public health and sensibility standpoint, this is a no-brainer. It is only the ideologues and moralists that stand in the way of genuine solutions.
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Comment #1 posted by Dave from N.S. on May 26, 2001 at 13:19:17 PT
AND...
let's not forget that BC has some of the nicest bud Canada has to offer... love that Chemo. I heard that cannabis has become the largest source of income for BC after tourism. Imagine what will happen when it's legalized! (I'll be moving out west, that's what)
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