By Jon Hiltz

 

Although the government of Canada is in the process of legalizing adult-use marijuana, at times it can be hard to tell.

Legalization was a major campaign promise for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, however, his refusal to decriminalize the plant in the interim has been widely criticized. This dissidence has come from members of the opposition party and even former Prime Ministers from his own party.

Now, a recent report from Vice Magazine has detailed just how costly this decision has been for thousands of Canadians.

Last year, over 5,000 people in Canada faced prosecution for cannabis possession, and over 1,000 people were brought up on trafficking-related charges as well.

There is another signal that the government of Canada will continue its curious hardline on drug enforcement with one hand while legalizing with the other. This indicator is the recent statements made by Ralph Goodale, the Minister of Public Safety. In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Goodale said that the legalization of cannabis will not include amnesty for past pot convictions.

The continued criminalization of a soon-to-be legal commodity has raised eyebrows within the cannabis community.

The outrage couldn’t get any more vitriolic towards law enforcement than in the case of Marc and Jodie Emery.  The two most famous Canadian activists were arrested just before boarding a plane to attend Spannabis. Then, in a list of court-ordered bail conditions, the two were forced to give up control of their Cannabis Culture brand, an entity the Emerys had spent decades building.

Last week, prosecutors laid more charges against the Emerys during a scheduled court appearance. Marc is facing 22 charges up from 15 and Jodie faces 10 charges, up from 5. The list of alleged offenses include drug trafficking, drug possession and various others.

In a phone call with Marijuana.com today, Jodie responded that she doesn’t have much to say on the broader prosecution, but did state that “the Crown is just trying to make this all look like a more serious, bigger case, in my opinion.”

Now that Canada’s 420 high has subsided, a harsh reality has set in. One that sees the continued prosecution of Canadians for something that will be perfectly legal in a year.