Although there are certainly positives that could come from the new marijuana legislation, there are a few potential problems with the idea Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has put forth that there is a possibility of automatic pardons for minor marijuana convictions. The quote we see in the media is:

“Once the law is changed, we will, of course, reflect on fairness in a way that is responsible moving forward. I think certainly we know that the current legislation is hurting Canadians and criminalizing Canadians who perhaps shouldn’t be,” he said.

The first issue we see is that the Liberals are waiting on the legalization of pot first. Legalization is not moving forward as fast as a lot people expected it to. Second is that there is an election coming in 2019 and the Liberals might have to get re-elected, and as a majority government, in order for this to proceed. You can be certain the Conservatives will have a different view on automatic pardons, say.  Finally, it’s not a guarantee and the government moves slowly, so waiting for this to happen might not be your best bet to clearing your record quickly.

More Waiting

If all went well and the law for the automatic pardons did get passed there would be more delays. According to a Global News article granting amnesty could be a lengthy and problematic process:

“However, the structure of the RCMP’s national criminal record databases makes it difficult to consistently pick out records related to marijuana from those for other drugs. That means that erasing marijuana possession (or trafficking) records could turn into a painstaking, manual process, involving searches in court and police archives across the country.”

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that it might take several years to see if automatic pardons for minor marijuana convictions becomes law. There are no guarantees. If you are searching for a way to clear your record, we can help you now. Call us for a free private consultation at 204-453-0099