What is a drug?
- Any substance that by its chemical nature alters structure or function in a living organism
- Legal – tea, coffee, coca cola, aspirin,
- Illegal – cocaine, LSD, heroin
- Controlled Drugs and Substances Act
- Enacted in 1997
- Criminalizes possession of, and trafficking in, of a variety if illegal and controlled drugs
- Schedule I: the most dangerous drugs (heroin, cocaine)
- Schedule II: marijuana and derivatives
- Schedule III: dangerous drugs previously found in the Food and Drugs Act
- Schedule IV: drugs that have to be controlled but are used for therapeutic purposes (barbiturates – strong tranquilizers)
- Schedule VII: cannabis resin, cannabis in amounts up to 3 kg
- Schedule VIII: cannabis resins in amounts up to 1 g and cannabis up to 30 g
Possession of a drug
- Even if it is a small amount, you can still be charged
- Even if it isn’t yours, you can still be charged
- If it is in your house, and you don’t partake, but you know, you can be charged
- CONSENT is the issue – you knew, and you let it happen anyway
Medicinal Marijuana
- 2001: allowances made to allow patients with terminal illnesses, chronic pain and chronic conditions to grow marijuana for personal use
- ID card necessary
- Gov’t of Canada: medicinal marijuana
- R v Hamon, R v Parker
Prescription Shopping
- Or Double Doctoring – people that ‘shop around’ and try to get the same prescription from different doctors
- The law states that a person who is getting a narcotic/controlled drug prescription must disclose any other such prescriptions within previous 30 days
Hybrid offence
- Summary: $1000 and/or 6 months in jail (repeat offenders: $2000 and/or 1 yr in jail)
- Indictable: 18 months – 7 yrs (depends on the substance)
Trafficking
- To sell, give, transfer, transport a controlled substance
- Penalties vary according to the drug, as well as whether its summary or indictable.
- It is enough to give drugs to another person – profit motive is not necessary
- R v Greyeyes
Importing/Exporting
- Globally, 600 billion dollars in raised in the illegal drug trade
- Nationally, 6 billion dollars is made in marijuana production in BC.
- Page 168: penalties..
- Range from 10 months-life
Money Laundering (not laundry)
- Launder: To use, transfer, possess, send, transport, transmit, alter, dispose of or deal with any property obtained through crime.
- Placement: dirty money is placed in a legitimate bank (difficult step – banks have to report large transactions)
- Layering: money is sent through various transactions to make it difficult to follow (wire transfers, bank-to-ban transactions, large purchases, changing currency) The goal is to make the money hard to trace
- Integration: money re-enters through a legitimate looking transaction. A bank transfer into a local business as an investment in exchange for a cut of the profits
Police Rights of Search and Seizure
- A warrant is needed in order to search a property (house, car) if there is a belief that an offence is in progress
- No warrant needs to be issued if there is belief that the situation is urgent
- The Criminal Code authorizes an officer may search a person if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the person is in possession of a drug
Charter of Rights and Freedoms
- R v Feeney: Police entered Michael Feeney`s home after the body of Frank Boyle was found. Police saw that Feeney`s shirt was blood splattered, and there was a pack of cigarettes that matched a pack found at the crime scene. Police ordered Feeney outside and arrested him, charging him with 2nd degree murder
- At trial, his lawyers said his rights had been violated – the police hadn`t obtained a search warrant
- The Supreme Court upheld this verdict in May, 1997, and Feeney was set free.
- R v Adams
