Criminal convictions sought as deterrent

The Prosecution Service threw out the vast majority of the charges — 188 of 224 — that were laid against people in 2016. Some charges were resolved after people signed a peace bond whose conditions included not working in dispensaries. In other cases, the Crown decided there wasn’t enough evidence to proceed.

Jack Lloyd, a Toronto lawyer who represents dispensary employees, says he hopes the Crown will also throw out the charges against the 88 people charged so far this year.

Offering peace bonds to so-called budtenders was a “progressive approach” that recognized it’s not in the public interest to prosecute employees, many of whom are in their 20s and working for around minimum wage, he said.

“The vast majority of people think it is a huge waste of resources to charge people and prosecute them, especially when court resources are limited.”

OTTAWA: POLICE CRACK DOWN, BUT PROSECUTORS GO FOR CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS

In Ottawa, the dispensaries began to proliferate in the summer of 2016.

Police cracked down in November, raiding seven shops in two days. Sporadic raids have continued, but there have been none since March. The toll? A total of 29 people charged with drug trafficking offences in raids on 14 pot shops.

Prosecutors in Ottawa have not thrown out any of the charges. In the four cases where employees pleaded guilty, prosecutors have asked for criminal convictions to deter others and to underline the “serious and prevalent problem” the dispensaries present. The country’s marijuana laws haven’t changed yet, and even when they do the government will not allow sales of the drug from unregulated stores, the Crown argued.

Products in the pot shops are from the black market, and Health Canada warns they may be unsafe.

Crowns in different cities can exercise discretion in deciding whether it’s in the public interest to prosecute each case.

CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGES

At some of the trials, lawyers in both cities will make constitutional arguments to have charges thrown out. Canadian courts have ruled that under the Charter of Rights patients have the right to “reasonable access” to medical marijuana. Activists have long argued that dispensaries provide such access because not every patient can use the legal system for obtaining medical marijuana. Health Canada-licensed producers, who sell marijuana by mail order, sometimes don’t carry the strains or type of products they need or run out of them, they argue.

In four cases set for trial next spring in Ottawa, time has been set aside for constitutional arguments. In Toronto, Paul Lewin, the lawyer representing many of the dispensary employees there, says he will also be making such arguments, but declined to say for how many clients or when the cases will be heard.

POT SHOPS IN OTTAWA: CHARGES AND PROSECUTIONS

29: People charged in raids at 14 shops since November 2016

4: People who have pleaded guilty. Two received suspended sentences, which carries a criminal conviction, and two received conditional discharges, in which a guilty plea is registered but there is no criminal conviction.

7: People whose cases are set for trial

2: People who will appear in court to enter a plea

16: People still making their way through the court process

POT SHOPS IN TORONTO: CHARGES AND PROSECUTIONS

312: People charged since May 2016

188: People who had charges thrown out after signing a peace bond or because prosecutors decided there was not enough evidence to proceed

10: People who have trial dates or preliminary hearings scheduled. Most are owners or managers of dispensaries.

108: People whose cases are making their way through the court process

3: People who pleaded guilty and were sentenced

1: Person wanted on a bench warrant

2: Corporations owning dispensaries that pleaded guilty

The vast majority of people think it is a huge waste of resources to charge people and prosecute them …