Are the feds ready to back Canadian police chiefs’ call for marijuana ticketing?

Call it debating, call it deferring, or call it simply taking their time to get a decision right, but the federal government may apparently be on the verge of approving looser marijuana laws in Canada.

The idea of giving police officers the ability to issue tickets for marijuana possession, rather than arresting the suspect, has been gaining steam over the past year – since the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police recommended the measure at their annual conference last August.

Now, on the eve of that same conference, the Conservative government is hinting that the time could now be right to take heed. And apparently, time is short.

The Canadian Press reported this week that Justice Minister Peter MacKay confirmed the government is still considering the measure, adding that it would happen sooner rather than later, if it happens at all.

"With some eight justice bills right now in the House or in the queue to come before Parliament, we're running out of runway as far as bringing legislation forward," MacKay said. "But that's one that I do view as important, so if we are going to introduce it, it would have to happen within the next six months."

MacKay's comments come as the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police prepares to hold its annual conference next week in Victoria, B.C. During the three-day session, the association will elect a new president, who will unveil his or her key priorities on Tuesday.

The major headline out of last year's conference was a request for changes to the way police agencies are asked to handle marijuana offenses.

The group asked the federal government to give them the ability to ticket people found with small amounts of marijuana rather than charge them with a criminal offence and drag them into court, which could result in a $1,000 fine, up to six months in jail and a criminal record.

"It must be recognized ... that under the current legislation the only enforcement option for police, when confronted with simple possession of cannabis, is either to turn a blind eye or lay charges. The latter ensures a lengthy and difficult process which, if proven guilty, results in a criminal conviction and criminal record,” CACP President Chief Const. Jim Chu said at the time.

Chu, the head of the Vancouver Police Department, will officially be replaced by a new president on Tuesday, and that person may or may not consider it among his or her key priorities.

But as an organization, CACP isn't interested in joining what has become a significant political battle. CACP spokesperson Tim Smith told Yahoo Canada News that the group was pleased that the federal government was considering the matter.

What is clear, however, is that in the year since the request was first made there has been little, if any, movement in Ottawa.

The immediate response on the matter – that it was a subject that the government would give careful consideration – has remained intact through to MacKay's most recent comment.

The government has continued to emphasize its "tough on crime" stance, most recently in a speech by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Langley, B.C., on Wednesday.

And notably, the governing party has taken great effort to attack Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau over his promise to legalize marijuana.

Most recently, the federal government also reportedly tried to recruit the Canadian Medical Association and other medical groups to endorse a campaign about the dangers of marijuana. Sources told the National Post that members of the group balked at participating due to how politicized the issue had become.

Recent polls have found that the Canadian public is more open than ever to decriminalizing or even legalizing marijuana use. A ticketing option could be seen a half-measure to many, but it would still be a major step when it comes to unravelling the legal knot marijuana has become.

This comparison was posed to me recently: If an officer finds two people in the park, one drinking a beer and the other smoking a joint, they will ticket the drinker and be forced to either let the smoker off scot-free or take them into custody.

Something isn't quite right in that equation, and perhaps the Conservatives are coming to that same conclusion. They've just been slow with their calculation.

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