Canadians with pot convictions want pardons if drug is legalized

VANCOUVER— Marcus Richardson is, in the eyes of the law, a criminal.

Never mind that a judge ruled the six kilograms of cannabis police found in his car was for severely ill patients at a medical marijuana dispensary.

Or that the same judge imposed only a minimum sentence because anything more would fail to maintain “a just, peaceful and safe society.”

He’s a criminal — and so are scores of other Canadians who face barriers to travel and work because they were caught with a drug that the government now intends to legalize.

“My charge wasn’t like, ‘He was practising civil disobedience at a place that was helping sick and dying people improve the quality of their last days on earth,’ ” Richardson said.

“If the charge read like that, I’d have no problem with it. It reads like, ‘I’m a marijuana trafficker.’ ”

Canadians with criminal records for marijuana crimes are eagerly waiting to see if Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will offer pardons when pot is legalized. Tens of thousands of people are charged with possession every year, and if convicted face consequences that can be devastating.

Richardson was driving across Vancouver’s Lions Gate Bridge in 1998 when police stopped him at a roadblock and found several kilograms of marijuana and $6,000 in his trunk.

A judge found the drugs were intended only for B.C. Compassion Club Society members and the money was a “float” Richardson carried to pay growers. He was convicted of possession for the purpose of trafficking and received a suspended sentence and six months’ probation.

Today, the 42-year-old father of three holds a federal licence to grow and possess marijuana and runs a business selling equipment for medical cannabis users.

Richardson is often asked to share his expertise with companies in the U.S., but he’s barred from crossing the border. He’d also like to volunteer on his kids’ field trips, but administrators conduct criminal record checks.

“I wouldn’t want to embarrass my children,” he said.

The previous Conservative govern- ment overhauled the pardon system in 2012, making it more expensive and rigorous.

Pardons, now called record suspensions, seal a criminal record to allow offenders who have lived crime-free to reintegrate, get better jobs and travel abroad.

The Parole Board of Canada has grappled with a backlog of pardon applications dating to the government’s changes, though it said last May it only had 5,000 left.

Richardson became eligible for a pardon in 2008 and applied three years later, but he’s still waiting. In frustration, he recently applied for a $585 (U.S.) waiver that would allow him to cross the border.

Asked whether her government would offer general pardons to people with minor marijuana convictions, Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould said she’s working with the ministers of health and public safety to hammer out the details of legalization.

“We will certainly look to have more to say about how we’re going to move forward,” she said. “But that includes actually having conversations . . . with different levels of government and ensuring we speak to Canadians who have been impacted.”

Pardons, now called record suspensions, seal a criminal record to allow offenders who have since lived crime-free to travel