York Regional Police chief in favour of ticketing marijuana users

Aug. 7, 2014
YorkRegion.com
By Jeremy Grimaldi

If you are found smoking a joint on a corner in York Region, should you end up with a criminal record?

York Regional Police Chief Eric Jolliffe does not think so.

He says a more measured approach should be considered for minor pot offences - the equivalent of someone holding 30 grams of marijuana, the equivalent of about 40 joints.

For that amount, while also using officer’s discretion, those who are simple users would be given a ticket, similar to what residents would receive for drinking in a park.

Despite this modern stance, Jolliffe is quite clear, this does not mean he is in favour of decriminalization or legalization of the drug.

“It is our opinion that the illicit use of cannabis has a negative impact on public safety and the health of young persons,” he said.

However, he does believe the fresh approach to the issue would benefit his officers, residents and institutions here and across the country.

“From our perspective what is being proposed will lessen the burden on the criminal justice system as well as our officers’ time having to attend court for these relatively minor offences,” he wrote in an email. “It will also allow our officers to use their discretion on a case by case basis, which is more efficient and makes good common sense.”

Jolliffe, similar to many chiefs around the country, is not the only one who’s view is shifting under a weight of research that suggests marijuana users should not be put through the court system.

Many, including federal Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, who is in favour of the government taxing and regulating the substance, agree the drug should be legalized entirely.

Colorado and Washington, for example, legalized marijuana for adults older than 21 on Jan. 1.

Polls are showing a softening view of the drug among Canadians of all ages.

The results of a national survey of 3,000 people commissioned by the Department of Justice showed two-thirds of respondents want marijuana laws softened, but a majority says companies should not be allowed to package and sell marijuana like alcohol and cigarettes.

Meanwhile 37.3 per cent say marijuana should be legalized, 33.4 percent want small amounts decriminalized, 13.7 per cent say the laws should stay the same, while 12 per cent say they should be strengthened.

In light of the Trudeau announcement, the Conservative government put out the following message on it’s website.

“These drugs are illegal because of the harmful effect they have on users and on society,” the statement read. “We will continue protecting the interests of families across this country. Our Government has no interest in seeing marijuana legalized.”

However when it comes to Chief Jolliffe’s position, which is backed by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, Conservative House Leader and York Simcoe MP Peter Van Loan said the government is looking into it.

The government is looking at the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police’s proposal to ticket small amounts of marijuana, he said. “Unlike the Liberal Party, we have been very clear, we have no intention of legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana. The chiefs of police have also been very clear that they do not support marijuana legalisation.”

Oak Ridges-Markham MP Paul Calandra said while he is personally “undecided” on the issue, the government’s policy has been slowly morphing on medical marijuana policy, where the government has made significant changes and raised the option of decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana.

“Police know the difference between someone trafficking and someone using it for non-medicinal purposes,” he said. “I haven’t seen evidence either way. I have spoken to officer friends who say they would like another tool in the toolbox (ticketing for small amounts).”

As for other marijuana advocates, who have been looking at the intricacies of the debate for some time, the issue of whether to decriminalize small amounts has divided many.

Craig Jones, the executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws in Canada, said giving police discretion is very controversial.

“For a long time, police officers on the front line have been trying to strike this balance between enforcing the law and recognizing that the law is cumbersome, not only on the individual, but also for the criminal justice system,” he said.

“Unless the possessor is also in possession of gun and several thousand dollars in cash and some cocaine, the individual is probably going to quit using it anyway. Punishment is disproportionate to the crime.”

However, he also said there are hidden threats in trusting police as to when and where they lay charges for the crime of smoking marijuana in public.

Canadians will suffer a very different experience if they are found with a bag of pot in Vancouver to Thunder Bay, where many aboriginals reside, evidence made public in a 2002 Senate report on the matter.

“In Kingston, you can walk through the ‘student ghetto’ and you will see kids on front porches smoking hookha or cannabis and you won’t see a cop for miles,” he added. “But go to the north end and its a very different experience, because that’s where families of the prisoners live. There’s a very clear class bias in cannabis convictions, white kids don’t get busted, their experience in the criminal justice system is very different from minorities.”

He said the best thing about the chiefs’ policy and Jolliffe’s words are that they acknowledge they are trying to lessen the burden of bad laws.

However, he re-iterated his stance that they simply do not go far enough.