Marijuana Pardons Made Easy
By John Swartz
Effective today, August 1, Canadians with convictions for simple marijuana possession can apply for an expedited pardon.
Justice minister David Lametti announced Bill C-93 is in force. People can find information how to apply for a pardon on the Parole Board of Canada website. There will be no application fee ($631), and as long as there are no other convictions on someone’s record a pardon will be issued immediately (taking weeks instead of months). The bill was sponsored by public safety minister Ralph Goodale. The government estimates there are 250,000 people affected.
The streamlined pardon process will only look at registered convictions for simple possession and forego many of the other criteria the parole board takes into consideration for other types of pardons. Those whose only sentence was a fine will not have to provide court documents as with other applications, but do need an RCMP and local police criminal record check (fees apply).
The 5 year post-conviction waiting period to apply for a pardon is also being waived. Canada shares criminal records with other countries, notably the United States, but pardoned convictions are not shared. If however, your information was recorded as a result of a previous visit to the United States, for example, that information will remain in their systems.
(Photo by Thought Catalog – Unsplash)