In early November I was disappointed to learn the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) restored provisions in the Criminal Code in R. v Sharma, stating that conditional sentences cannot be given for crimes that carry maximum sentences of at least 14 years in prison, or 10 years in drug-related cases.
The defence in a B.C. drug trial has made effective use of an expert witness to demonstrate that a police dog’s behaviour did not justify the search of a man’s vehicle, says Ottawa criminal lawyer Céline Dostaler.
Impeding legislation which would grant free pardons for Canadians convicted of simple marijuana possession is a “great start” but could be better, says Ottawa criminal lawyer Céline Dostaler.
Both technical and legal uncertainty about how using marijuana may cause driving impairment threaten to hamstring the court system as lawyers put the new laws on trial.
The federal government is working hard to legalize marijuana. The Liberal Government had announced the legalization of cannabis would be finalized on Canada Day 2018, but this date still has not been confirmed.
