Canadian Criminal Sentencing/Offences/Drug Trafficking (Schedule I)

Schedule I: Cocaine, Crack, Heroin, MDMA, etc.

 * For principles on Drug Offences Generally, see Drug Offences

Principles
There is a distinction made in law between hard drugs (such as cocaine) and soft drugs (such as marijuana).

The societal costs of drug abuse and trafficking are significant. They include the effects on health care, lost productivity and financial loss due to enforcement.

Many courts have spoken to the societal harm of drug trafficking. Trafficking and use of cocaine has a close connection with violent crime.

Offenders found trafficking in a Schedule I controlled substance (e.g. Opiates) are liable for an indictable offence with a maximum penalty of life in jail.

Trafficking in cocaine is typically a jail sentence. This is particularly true in "dial-a-dope" schemes which are a form of commercial trafficking.

The destructive nature of methamphetamines “mirror those of two other hard drugs, heroin and cocaine”.

Ranges
Sentencing ranges vary between provinces. In Nova Scotia, an appropriate sentence for trafficking of Schedule I substances will range will typically span from 3 to 5 years. As such, conditional sentences are rarely available.

In Saskatchewan, the range is between 18 months to 4 years for trafficking.

In Newfoundland, trafficking in small quantities of cocaine is a sentence in the range of 6 to 18 months.

It is infrequent that it will go below two years and so will virtually guarantee a federal sentence. There is no fixed minimum, however. There is still significant discretion.

However, it is not unreasonable in certain exceptional circumstances to have sentences below two years. The starting point for commercial trafficking in cocaine in small quantities is three years for most provinces.

The range of sentence for trafficking of cocaine in the amounts of 1 kg or more will typically see sentences in the range of 5 years. Larger amounts upward of 3 kg will attract a range of 6 to 8 years.

In Ontario, the range of sentencing for trafficking in small amounts of crack cocaine is 6 months to 2 years less a day.

In Manitoba, there are several recognized levels of trafficking in cocaine:
 * 1) Low (street dealer): sentences typically start at less than two years and can range up to four years.
 * 2) Low-Mid (mere courier): sentences for couriers can be between 3 to 6 years.
 * 3) Mid (more than mere courier of large quantities): sentences typically range from 5 to 8 years if they are an insider, while couriers are in the range of 3 to 6 years.
 * 4) High: (multi-kilogram trafficker): sentences typically range from 8 to 12 years

Manitoba court has stated that the mid-level drug deal has a range of sentence between 7 and 8 years. It has been further suggested that “a person who traffics in a sophisticated manner at a kilogram level should, absent significant mitigating factors, expect no less a penalty than 10 years' incarceration. It should not matter whether that drug is cocaine or methamphetamine.”

Conditional Sentences
In Ontario and Newfoundland, the conditional sentence is available for trafficking in only rare cases. Those who are involved in a “dial-a-dope” operation will generally be sentenced to incarceration.

In Saskatchewan, conditional sentences are available for trafficking in hard drugs. The appropriateness of a conditional sentences depends on several factors:
 * 1) the sophistication and significance of the offence and the accused's place in it;
 * 2) the type and quantity of drug;
 * 3) the motivation for the offence: those who traffic to support their own habit may be more likely to receive a restorative disposition than those who traffic for other reasons;
 * 4) the need for and the utility of the deterrence which will be provided by the sentence imposed;
 * 5) the factors relating to the community like the significance of the problem; and,
 * 6) the age, lack of record and other personal circumstances of the accused.