A Toronto woman convicted of growing marijuana in her suburban home is a breath of fresh air for Ottawa police. The court sentenced Trang Nguyen, the homeowner, to nine months in jail and sentenced the “gardener” to a year.
This is the first Ottawa conviction of an absentee homeowner with a marijuana cultivation operating out of their home. This tactic, used by organized crime, of separating homeowners from the illegal activities going on in their homes is a way of distancing the owners and making the drug problem that much more difficult to quell.
Staff Sgt. Pete Gauthier, of the Ottawa police drug unit stated, “This was a first.” Continuing with, “We haven’t been able to do that in the past, because the person doesn’t go to the house.”
The police hope the courts ruling will send a message to other grow operations in the area.
In April, the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear a case regarding the cultivation of marijuana. As it stood, Health Canada received its crop from a mine in Manitoba and limited commercial growers to one patient at a time. Authorized patients are allowed to grow their own “medicine” as well.
Times change and it appears that marijuana may soon become more socially accepted. A recent field poll reports 56% of Californians favor legalizing marijuana for recreational use. This includes non-medicinal sales that they project will generate $1.2 billion in direct tax revenue for the state. Unfortunately for them, to tax marijuana, it must be federally legal, which many agree, may never happen or if it does, will not happen for quite awhile.
Hypotheticals aside, the Crown scored a victory with this decision. After hearing the news, police remarked that now they will focus more attention on catching absentee homeowners with grow-ops and bringing them to justice. Whatever justice that may be at the time.
find a lawyer,
lawyers. Canadian Lawyers, Toronto lawyers, Vancouver lawyers, Brampton lawyers, Ottawa lawyers by visiting
www.lawyerahead.ca.
