Statistics Canada says number of police-reported pot offences down again in 2016
OTTAWA — The number of police-reported cannabis-offences declined for the fifth straight year, Statistics Canada said Monday, a downward trend that began long before the Liberals brought forward their plan to legalize the drug for recreational use.
The annual tally of police-reported crime from the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics said there were about 55,000 offences related to marijuana reported to police in 2016, about 6,000 fewer than reported the year before — despite previous data showing consumption of the drug on the rise.
The Liberal government has introduced legislation to legalize marijuana — a goal it intends to achieve by next summer — but has decided against decriminalizing simple possession in the interim, which the NDP has been urging them to do.
Statistics Canada said police charged 17,733 people with possession of pot last year.