Pot possession snuffed out from courtroom docket
A 19-year-old woman from the Assiniboia area was likely the last person in Saskatchewan sentenced for simple marijuana possession before recreational cannabis was legalized on Oct. 17.
It was the only charge she faced after a check stop last year, during which police said they smelled “fresh marijuana” in her vehicle, said the woman’s lawyer, Brian Pfefferle.
She pleaded guilty to simple possession and on Oct. 11 received a three-month conditional discharge that Pfefferle described as fairly lenient, considering his client had previous marijuana possession convictions.
With legalization only six days away, the sentence still stung. It also has lasting effects.
While a conditional discharge means the woman won’t have a criminal record (if she completes her community service work), she may not be able to travel. Pfefferle said discharges aren’t always recognized at the U.S. border.
“On drug cases, often they’ll deny people entrance for having a discharge ... rather than a stay of proceedings or mediation ... for a possession charge,” Pfefferle said.
In this case, there was no stay — when the Crown withdraws a charge unless new evidence comes forward within a year.
Pfefferle said federal prosecutors had been staying several simple marijuana possession charges in the months leading up to legalization.
Craig Neely, chief federal prosecutor for Saskatchewan, confirmed prosecutors have been following a national review process since June that directed them to examine whether a stay would be appropriate.
He said the last outstanding sim- ple marijuana possession case in Saskatoon post-legalization is the one involving ex-saskatchewan Roughrider Duron Carter. He’s scheduled for trial in December.
“That’s an example of where we applied our policy and made a determination that it was in the public interest to continue with the prosecution,” Neely said.
The fact that the charge is no longer on the books doesn’t affect their policy, he added.
Pfefferle said he didn’t know what to expect with his client’s case creeping so close to legalization. At sentencing, the judge noted that marijuana possession was illegal when the charge was laid.
So when was the last simple marijuana possession charge laid in Saskatoon?
According to city police spokeswoman Kelsie Fraser, a man was charged Oct. 13 in conjunction with weapons offences.
The possession charge was stayed two days later, a court official confirmed.
Fraser said two stand-alone simple possession charges were noted in the city police system in early October, but neither of the charges were actually laid.
Officers either seized the cannabis or gave a warning instead.
Only a year ago, that would have been Pfefferle’s client. He said it’s frustrating to know “a productive member of society who occasionally used cannabis” is paying for something that’s no longer illegal — all because of timing.
“Prosecuting marijuana offences for simple possession does no good for society,” said the lawyer. “That’s what the criminal justice system is made for. It’s made for ensuring that we have laws that make sense and that’s one that never made sense to me.”