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A British Columbia man found with 746 grams of marijuana beat drug trafficking charges today after convincing an Ontario judge he had intended to smoke all of it by himself.
Carlos Lamprea, a home renovator, pleaded guilty to possessing the drug, but was found not guilty of possessing the marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.
Lamprea, 56, claimed the drugs were intended for his personal use.
"He has a record of a terrible abuse of this drug," his lawyer Kenneth Smith said. "It's conduct that's shameful."
Lamprea has six prior convictions for possessing marijuana.
Justice J.L. Menzies said he believed medical evidence from Lamprea's doctor that the man was a drug abuser with a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Provincial police officer Andrew Houston pulled Lamprea over for allegedly speeding on Feb. 29, 2004, court heard.
While obtaining his licence and registration, Houston noticed Lamprea was nervous and constantly tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.
When he looked inside the vehicle, the officer spotted a plastic Tupperware container on the rear passenger-side floor.
Houston questioned Lamprea, who admitted he had just finished a joint.
The officer then found bags containing 746 grams of marijuana inside the vehicle.
A key part of Smith's defence was that police didn't find debt lists, scales or other devices to measure marijuana -- meaning he didn't intend to sell the drugs.
Lamprea testified that he smoked about seven to 10 grams of marijuana per day.
"If ( the officer ) had seen the joints inside my pocket, he would have realized these are not toothpick-sized joints," he said.
Lamprea was fined $5,000 on the possession of marijuana charge.
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2005 The Toronto Star
Contact: lettertoed@thestar.com
Website: The Toronto Star - Breaking News, Toronto News, Ontario News, Canada News
Carlos Lamprea, a home renovator, pleaded guilty to possessing the drug, but was found not guilty of possessing the marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.
Lamprea, 56, claimed the drugs were intended for his personal use.
"He has a record of a terrible abuse of this drug," his lawyer Kenneth Smith said. "It's conduct that's shameful."
Lamprea has six prior convictions for possessing marijuana.
Justice J.L. Menzies said he believed medical evidence from Lamprea's doctor that the man was a drug abuser with a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Provincial police officer Andrew Houston pulled Lamprea over for allegedly speeding on Feb. 29, 2004, court heard.
While obtaining his licence and registration, Houston noticed Lamprea was nervous and constantly tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.
When he looked inside the vehicle, the officer spotted a plastic Tupperware container on the rear passenger-side floor.
Houston questioned Lamprea, who admitted he had just finished a joint.
The officer then found bags containing 746 grams of marijuana inside the vehicle.
A key part of Smith's defence was that police didn't find debt lists, scales or other devices to measure marijuana -- meaning he didn't intend to sell the drugs.
Lamprea testified that he smoked about seven to 10 grams of marijuana per day.
"If ( the officer ) had seen the joints inside my pocket, he would have realized these are not toothpick-sized joints," he said.
Lamprea was fined $5,000 on the possession of marijuana charge.
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2005 The Toronto Star
Contact: lettertoed@thestar.com
Website: The Toronto Star - Breaking News, Toronto News, Ontario News, Canada News
