A judge found it plausible that a half-pound of marijuana could be for personal use for a heavy user entering a secluded work camp.
Drumheller man, Sheldon White, was found guilty of simple possession of marijuana at trial at the Drumheller Court house on October 3. However he was found not guilty of the more serious charge of possession for the purposes of trafficking.
The court heard evidence from Constable Robert Harms of the Three Hills RCMP detachment. Early in the evening of October 31, 2011, RCMP stopped a car driven by White after police observed it speeding and that the licensee plate was not illuminated. There were two in the vehicle. White presented the officer with a notice of suspension and an expired insurance card. White admitted to having beer in a cooler in the car and Harms said he noted the smell of fresh marijuana.
A search of the vehicle reveled a roach, a bag containing 237 grams of marijuana, beer, and a small plastic package with traces of cocaine. There was also bear spray, a digital scale and Ziploc baggies in a back pack and strewn about the car.
Constable Robert Reynolds of the RCMP, who was allowed to give expert testimony, indicated the amount of marijuana, the presence of the baggies, scale and bear spray all indicated it was a commercial, drug operation.
White testified that he is now six months sober, but at the time he was a heavy marijuana user. He had just bought the package of marijuana as he was preparing to go back to a work camp near Whitecourt. He indicated the baggies were bought for him to make lunches with, and he also used them and his scale to measure out portions of marijuana each day. The baggies were strewn about after he was arrested for an impaired driving charge previous to this stop.
He said at time the had been in camp for more than two months at a time, and during this time workers are not able to come and go. He does not share or sell cannabis and it would take him about two and half months to finish off the bag. He said a half-pound is a fairly normal amount of drugs to bring into a camp.
As for the cocaine, he said at the time he no longer used cocaine and was unaware of the package. The police did not weigh the cocaine.
Judge Shriar found White not guilty of possession of cocaine. She also found it credible that he bought that much marijuana for personal use. This raised a doubt as to the charge of possession for the purposes of trafficking.
White was fined $1,500 for the possession of marijuana charge plus a victim fine surcharge of $225. He was also placed on probation for a year with the direction that it not interfere with his work.
