Bill C-15 proposing a mandatory minimum sentence for drug offences

Groups opposing the bill claim it is more harmful then helpful

By. Britt Carlsen

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - For the first time in Canadian history, if passed, Bill C-15 proposes to apply a mandatory minimum sentence for a wide range of drug offences, even growing a single marijuana plant. Jacob Hunter of Beyond Prohibition Foundation believes that this will cause more harm than good. Hunter says we'll see more violent drug markets fueled by higher profit and characterized by a greater participation of organized crime if the bill is passed.  He added that more hardened criminals will use the mandatory minimums to justify large scale grow operations.

So what is Hunter's group proposing? He says his groups aim is a regulated, taxed and legal marketplace for cannabis. Hunter believes that prohibition is causing more dangerous effects to our society than marijuana ever could and he's not the only one. When asked about what he thought of the proposed Bill C-15 Vancouver's so-called Prince of Pot, Mark Emery, said anything that puts people in jail for drugs is going to fill prisons.