T
The420Guy
Guest
Not only are local police officers taking down marijuana growing operations
in Kelowna, they are also getting results in the courts.
B.C. was once known as a haven for marijuana, where the RCMP were reluctant
to find, and charge, offenders and the courts saw fit to hand down only
fines.
But with both internal and international pressure to tighten up, the courts
have responded and it is now common for someone charged with growing a
commercial marijuana crop to face a year behind bars-not conditional
sentences in the community or probation.
Clarke Burnett, a Crown prosecutor for federal drug matters, said the
public has had enough.
"It is not just the police, it is the courts themselves saying this is
listed as a crime and there are stiff penalties being imposed and now we
are going to impose them," he said.
"It is what should happen; the courts react to society."
The confusion among court sentences was straightened out last August.
A Supreme Court judge in Vancouver handed down a sentence of just under
two years to a first-time offender-a sentence which differed greatly from
previous decisions.
But the B.C. Court of Appeal scaled back that sentence to just one year of
jail time.
Locally, several offenders have now seen jail time. Raymond Calkin was
sentenced last June, to one year in jail despite having no prior record of
drug offences.
The Crown had agreed to a six-month conditional sentence, but judge Wilfred
Klinger tossed it out in favour of the heavier sentence.
He talked about the damage found to homes, the theft of power and the risk
of fire and electrocution to firefighters based on amateur wiring as
greater concerns to the community.
He also discounted the prevailing thought that marijuana is a light-weight
drug.
"Those who consider the effects of the possession and use of this substance
to be benign should read the predisposition reports prepared for the
sentencing of young offenders.
"Those reports all too frequently describe its deleterious effects on young
persons," Klinger said in his ruling.
The judge also attacked the myth that there is little adverse social effect
to the use of marijuana and noted the vast organized criminal business of
marijuana growing. A fine, as the courts had been apt to impose, was looked
at as a cost of doing business, he said.
Wade Jenson, a local criminal lawyer, said stiffer jail sentences are not
the answer as can be witnessed by their futility south of the border.
"The RCMP has done a good job of instilling fear in the community with
respect to marijuana growing and that community concern, as it often is, is
reflected in some sentences being handed down," said Jenson.
Increasing the risks of marijuana growing will only increase prices, making
it even more lucrative, he added.
"It is feeding an industry-not killing it."
He sees an interesting social contrast as well.
On one hand, the decriminalization of marijuana appears to be gaining steam
and yet the courts are coming down harder on growers.
Jenson expects, because of the nature of the system, that those sentences
won't come down.
"Sentencing in criminal court is somewhat akin to taxes-it goes up rather
easily but rarely comes down."
Kelowna RCMP raided two more growing operations in rural areas Thursday,
bringing the total this year close to 20. Rough estimates have 400 more
homes in the Kelowna area being used to grow marijuana.
Newshawk: Herb
Source: Kelowna Capital News
2495 Enterprise Way, Kelowna, British Columbia V1X 7K2
Website: Kelowna News - Kelowna Capital News
Contact: edit@kelownacapnews.com
Date: March 5, 2001
Author: Marshall Jones
in Kelowna, they are also getting results in the courts.
B.C. was once known as a haven for marijuana, where the RCMP were reluctant
to find, and charge, offenders and the courts saw fit to hand down only
fines.
But with both internal and international pressure to tighten up, the courts
have responded and it is now common for someone charged with growing a
commercial marijuana crop to face a year behind bars-not conditional
sentences in the community or probation.
Clarke Burnett, a Crown prosecutor for federal drug matters, said the
public has had enough.
"It is not just the police, it is the courts themselves saying this is
listed as a crime and there are stiff penalties being imposed and now we
are going to impose them," he said.
"It is what should happen; the courts react to society."
The confusion among court sentences was straightened out last August.
A Supreme Court judge in Vancouver handed down a sentence of just under
two years to a first-time offender-a sentence which differed greatly from
previous decisions.
But the B.C. Court of Appeal scaled back that sentence to just one year of
jail time.
Locally, several offenders have now seen jail time. Raymond Calkin was
sentenced last June, to one year in jail despite having no prior record of
drug offences.
The Crown had agreed to a six-month conditional sentence, but judge Wilfred
Klinger tossed it out in favour of the heavier sentence.
He talked about the damage found to homes, the theft of power and the risk
of fire and electrocution to firefighters based on amateur wiring as
greater concerns to the community.
He also discounted the prevailing thought that marijuana is a light-weight
drug.
"Those who consider the effects of the possession and use of this substance
to be benign should read the predisposition reports prepared for the
sentencing of young offenders.
"Those reports all too frequently describe its deleterious effects on young
persons," Klinger said in his ruling.
The judge also attacked the myth that there is little adverse social effect
to the use of marijuana and noted the vast organized criminal business of
marijuana growing. A fine, as the courts had been apt to impose, was looked
at as a cost of doing business, he said.
Wade Jenson, a local criminal lawyer, said stiffer jail sentences are not
the answer as can be witnessed by their futility south of the border.
"The RCMP has done a good job of instilling fear in the community with
respect to marijuana growing and that community concern, as it often is, is
reflected in some sentences being handed down," said Jenson.
Increasing the risks of marijuana growing will only increase prices, making
it even more lucrative, he added.
"It is feeding an industry-not killing it."
He sees an interesting social contrast as well.
On one hand, the decriminalization of marijuana appears to be gaining steam
and yet the courts are coming down harder on growers.
Jenson expects, because of the nature of the system, that those sentences
won't come down.
"Sentencing in criminal court is somewhat akin to taxes-it goes up rather
easily but rarely comes down."
Kelowna RCMP raided two more growing operations in rural areas Thursday,
bringing the total this year close to 20. Rough estimates have 400 more
homes in the Kelowna area being used to grow marijuana.
Newshawk: Herb
Source: Kelowna Capital News
2495 Enterprise Way, Kelowna, British Columbia V1X 7K2
Website: Kelowna News - Kelowna Capital News
Contact: edit@kelownacapnews.com
Date: March 5, 2001
Author: Marshall Jones
