From: [p--er--e] at [gsb010.cs.ualberta.ca] (Pierre Honeyman)
Newsgroups: can.general,talk.politics.drugs
Subject: Canadian Drug conviction Stats
Date: 13 Apr 1994 05:14:54 GMT

Some sample statistics for conviction and punishment for drug offenses 
in Canada.

			Simple Posession

		   Cannabis	  Cocaine	  Heroin	  Hallucinogens
Sentence    Year   n      %       n    % 	  n    %	  n    % 
Fine only    1980  21973  63.2    313  67.3       34   34.7       863  71.0
	     1985  12541  68.2    924  73.8       30   32.3       532  68.1
    
Susp. Sent./ 1980  1423    4.1     20   4.3       22   22.4        81   6.7
Probabtion   1985  921     5.0     39   3.1       12   12.9        52   6.7

Absolute/    1980  9828   28.3     45   9.7        2    2.0       109   9.0   
Cond.        1985  3333   18.1     79   6.3        3    3.2        68   8.7
Discharge

imprisonment 1980  1533   4.4      87  18.7       40   40.8       163  13.4
             1985  1604   8.7     210  16.8       48   51.6       129  16.5

===========================================================================

	Traficking/ Posession for the purpose of traficking
                   
                  Cannabis       Cocaine        Heroin     Hallucinogens
Sentence     Year  n      %      n     %        n    %     n     %
Non-         1980  1708  32.1    65    17.5     34   16.8  310   26.4
Imprisonment 1985  1307  34.2   242    25.6     16   10.5  137   29.0

Imprisonment 1980  3173  59.6   120    32.3     36   17.8  695   59.1
< 1 year     1985  2189  57.3   404    42.7     36   23.7  265   56.0

1 - <2 years 1980   372   7.0    88    23.7     49   24.3  141   12.0
             1985   284   7.4   199    21.0     38   25.0   59   12.5

2+ years     1980    72   1.4    98    26.4     83   41.1   30    2.6
             1985    38   1.0   101    10.7     62   40.8   12    2.5


In both of the above tables, hallucinogens refer to Food and drug Act
Schedule IV drugs: LSD, MDA, DMT, psylocibin, (others). PCP is excluded since
conviction statistics are unavailable for this drug.

Also, sentences classified as "other" by the Bureau of Dangerous Drugs are
omitted from the sentencing statistics.

Also, in Canada, traficking is the simple act of giving an illegal drug to 
another person, or conveying the drug for that purpose.  No money needs to
be exchanged, and there are no set amounts of drugs that are needed in order
to qualify for traficking.  Posession for the purpose of traficking is an
arbitrary charge that the prosecutor can make in lieu of simple posession, like
traficking there are no set amounts that need to be involved (apparently the
de-facto limit for marijuana here in Toronto is 2 grams - approx. 2 joints).

The above tables were taken from the book _Illicit Drugs in Canada_, ed. by
Blackwell and Erickson.


Pierre