Clandestine laboratories or Grow-Ops are widely viewed as serious criminal activity that warrants significant condemnation from the courts. For this reason, judges will not hesitate to order lengthy terms of incarceration, even for first time offenders. A proper defence starts with an examination of the police investigation. If the police have violated the client’s rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in obtaining the evidence, the court may rule the evidence inadmissible. Evidence obtained by the police in an unlawful manner or contrary to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms typically becomes subject to scrutiny of the court upon the application of your criminal defence lawyer at trial. In any given case the court may accept your lawyer’s application to rule the evidence inadmissible and dismiss the charges.

In addition, a basic concept of Canadian criminal law is that a person cannot be convicted unless it is established that they had a guilty mind. With respect to possession of any prohibited drug, the court must be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused had knowledge of the character of the forbidden substance. This element of the offence is required even with the most serious drug offences. In addition, the prosecution must also prove to the court that the accused had control over the prohibited substance. The degree of control must be more than casual or hasty manipulation in order for the court to ground a conviction. Merely consorting with a person who has possession is insufficient to establish the requisite degree of control necessary to find an accused guilty of either possession, possession for the purpose of trafficking, or production.

For further information or for a free initial consultation, please contact our Vancouver law office and speak to one of our firearms lawyers.

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