C-15
Many drug crimes (import/export, production, trafficking offences) would carry stiff mandatory penalties under the federal legislation known as Bill C-15. But after 9 days of debate, the Senate has acted to minimize some of the most draconian measures:
- People who grew as few as five marijuana plants could have faced a mandatory six-month jail sentence. That’s been raised from five to 200. Which simply means that judges will retain discretion when sentencing those found guilty of growing fewer than 200 plants.
- The courts have been given discretion to diverge from the one-year mandatory sentence for drug traffickers previously convicted of a drug-related offence.
Mandatory sentencing has already been tried in the U.S., and most notably in California where the prisons are so full it’s driving that state bankrupt.
How much harm do small-time marijuana growers do? The amendment by the Liberal-dominated Senate to raise the threshold to 200 plants may be overly generous, but surely somebody who only grows 5 plants does not deserve a mandatory sentence.
Unfortunately, the Senate amendments simply send the legislation back to the House of Commons.
But who knows? Maybe if the “law and order” Harper Tories are really serious about tackling the problem of substance abuse, they’ll reconsider their approach to marihuana and concentrate on more deserving substances. More probably though, they can’t handle the truth.
Click HERE to view the progress of the Bill so far.
© Fowler Media
Thanks for your piece on Bill C-15. I agree with much of what you say but I couldn’t happen but notice a major error. It’s not your fault though because its been perpetuated throughout the media. The Senate did amend C-15 as mentioned but they did not remove mandatory jail for under 200 plants.
Here’s what they really did:
- Remove the clause for growing under 200 plants , if you are caught growing on property that you own. This is mainly because C-15 doubles the maximum jail time for pot growing from 7 to 14 years , and if you own the house the courts can/will order it seized under forfeiture.
(note) Anyone caught growing any amount of Cannabis on property that is not owned by them , a rental , in grandmas garden , in the woods etc is liable for a 9 month mandatory minimum jail sentence under the Senate amendments of C-15
- Make native Canadians exempt from C-15’s mandatory minimums if another more suitable sentence is available to the judge.
- Take away the clause that said any repeat offense of anything covered under C-15 , like growing or trafficking Cannabis , within a ten year period results in an automatic extra year mandatory jail.
- Force a review of C-15 in two years and five years.
That is the full extent of the Senates amendments. The false-media reports about it being totally gutted are outrageous. Nothing taken out would effect the ability to fight organized crime , which is what C-15 is suppose to be all about.
I honestly believe that the Senators tried to do their best but in the mountain of paper-work forgot about the aggravating factor clause. They claim to have restored judicial powers for under 200 plants , but so long as you don’t grow it with one of the list of aggravating factors. The problem is the first thing on that list regards property and whether you are in a rental.
As you mentioned this bill may be returning to parliament soon in the new year. It will be in its amended form , which is still very dangerous. There is a chance that it could be voted on right there or sent back to the freshly Conservafied Senate. In the last round the Bloc and NDP voted against C-15 and Liberals and Conservatives for it. Ignatieff has been getting a lot of well deserved flack for that , and I hope he changes his mind.
Two resources for information that I look at for updates on bill C-15 are:
http://www.whyprobition.ca and http://www.cannabisfacts.ca
Please help spread the word that its not to late to stop Bill C-15. If we can get as many people as possible to contact Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff to tell him we are watching and we want him to vote no on C-15. Voting for C-15 is like entering a coalition with the Conservatives to pass mandatory minimums for Cannabis crimes.
Again Thanks
Alan
I cannot imagine how our government, or any government for that matter, can think jailing people for cannabis use or growing a few personal plants can in anyway be good for society.
Drug use is a health issue, not a criminal issue.
Someone said, and I am not sure who or where, that the only criminal aspect of cannabis are the laws.
The biggest problem to changing these laws is voting. Voter apathy keeps the old ways in and the new ways out. If one wants to make changes, one must first get out there and do something.
Don’t just hit the bong, hit the polls as well.