Canada - Canadians: Bill C-26 Means Mandatory Minimum Prison Sentences for Pot

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Listen Up, Canadians: Bill C-26 Means Mandatory Minimum Prison Sentences for Pot
(11 Mar, 2008)

The Conservative Government of Canada is stepping up a huge propaganda campaign to pass Bill C-26, mandatory minimum prison sentences for marijuana



Bill C-26 takes a page from American policy by imposing mandatory minimums and harsher penalties for drug crimes. A person could be jailed for at least 6 months for the crime of growing as little as one marijuana plant, were this legislation to pass. We have seen how badly the drug war has failed in America, so why adopt a similar approach? Why should we move for an approach in favour of more imprisonment?

Bill C-26 was last debated in the House of Commons on February 4, 2008. It proposes minimum penalties for the production, possession, trafficking and importing/exporting of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines and other drugs.

Summary of C-26

The Bill proposes minimum penalties for the production, possession, trafficking, importing/exporting and production of Marijuana, Cocaine Heroin, Methamphetamines and other drugs.

Marijuana:

- 1 to 2 year mandatory prisons sentences for the production, possession for the purposes of trafficking, trafficking, and importing/exporting.

- Length of sentences depend on "aggravating factors" such as a prior drug offence, if trafficking takes place in areas where there are young people or children, if health and safety of children, property, residential property or property of a third party is threatened.

- Sentences relating to possession, trafficking, importing/exporting, mostly depend on quantities however, mandatory sentences for production of even 1 marijuana plant calls for a minimum sentence of 6 months.

- The maximum penalty for cannabis production would increase from 7 to 14 years imprisonment


Bill C-26 is designed to appeal to the core Conservative base. It is an oversimplification of drug use in Canada that uses scare tactics to bully people into thinking that marijuana is at the root of violent and organized crime in Canada. This Bill does nothing to address either of those problems. Conservatives are taking Canada in the wrong direction. A direction that is expensive, has no effect on drug use, and will only increase the prison population, creating a new set of overpopulation, health, safety, and crime problems within the prison system.

A 2002 Justice Department report concluded that mandatory minimum sentences are least effective in relation to drug offences: "MMS do not appear to influence drug consumption or drug-related crime in any measurable way. A variety of research methods concludes that treatment-based approaches are more cost effective than lengthy prison terms. MMS are blunt instruments that fail to distinguish between low and high-level, as well as hardcore versus transient drug dealers." - MANDATORY MINIMUM PENALTIES: Their Effects on Crime, Sentencing Disparities, and Justice System Expenditures, 2002

Overall Concerns

There is no proof that mandatory minimums are effective and appropriate measures to reduce drug use and crimes related to drugs. Most evidence shows the opposite. C-26 does not address the core issue of why people use drugs. C-26 increases already imbalanced and over-funded enforcement approach to drug use in Canada without reducing crime rates or drug use, and abandons successful measures such as harm reduction and grass roots education programs. C-26 moves toward expensive, failed US style war on drugs that spends tens of billions a year on enforcement and incarceration while crime rates and drug use soar, and leads to greater incarceration rates and greater burden on courts, police, and prisons.

The Bill leaves it open for enforcement to go after the low level dealers and marijuana infractions (The selling of one joint or growing one plant could constitute trafficking). Current waiting lists for drug treatment beds is from months to years, depending on the city and region, Drug Treatment Courts will only serve to put more people on a waiting list.

Failed US War on Drugs

- Mandatory-sentencing policies have produced record incarceration rates of non-violent drug users in the United States. (HIV/AIDS Legal Network).

- 2.1 million people are in US prisons. 80 % of the increase in the federal prison population from 85-95 is due to drug convictions. By 2004, drug offenders made up 54 percent of sentenced federal prisoners, up from just 25 percent in 1980 (American Bar Association and Drug Policy Alliance). US minimums were introduced in 1986.

- The supposed targets for these sentences - the Kingpins are in the best position to negotiate lighter or no sentence deals with the prosecutors.

- MMs disproportionately target visible minorities (American Civil Liberties Union)

- In June 2004, the American Bar Association's (ABA's) Justice Kennedy Commission called on Congress to repeal mandatory minimum sentences, particularly with respect to drug crimes. "Mandatory minimum sentences tend to be tough on the wrong people."

- The US Sentencing Commission concluded that MMs fail to deter crime, and reported that that only 11% of federal drug defendants are high-level drug dealers, 59% of crack defendants are street level dealers compared to 5% of defendants who are high level crack dealers. (US Sentencing Commission, Special Report to Congress, 1995).

- In 2000, California repealed MMs for minor drug offences. In 2004, Michigan repealed MMs for most drug offences including repealing the "harshest drug law in the nation", life without parole for dealing more that 650 grams of cocaine. (Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency) Delaware and Massachusetts have similar legislative reviews in process.



Take Action: 4 things you can do to fight Bill C-26

1) Inform yourself: Learn more about Bill C-26 by reading this website.

2) Raise awareness: Tell your friends and family about Bill C-26: Print out any pages from this site, including the files on the Information page.

3) Write letters and e-mails: Write a letter to the editor for your local newspaper. Write an e-mail and or letter to your member of parliament about Bill C-26, and consider asking why the House of Commons continues to support marijuana prohibition. Please also see the CSSDP's Bill C-26 writing campaign.

4) Call in: Phone the Justice Department: (613) 957-4222, (613) 992-4621 or contact Justice Minister Rob Nicholson.



Key Talking Points

- The bill ignores the root causes and problems of drug use in Canada: prohibition.

- Mandatory Minimums don't work on drug crimes. The experience in the American system shows us this model does not work.

- This is a recipe for exploding prisons, courtroom backlogs and millions of wasted tax payer's dollars.

- As usual, the Conservatives are ignoring what is working and going for a failed George Bush style war on drugs.

- This is a win for Organized Crime - taking the small players off the street, pushing up the prices of drugs and leaving the door open for organized crime.


INFORMATION PROVIDED BY: http://c-26.oldsock.com