Drug offences include simple possession, possession for the purpose of trafficking, trafficking, production, and importing or exporting of any substances listed in the Schedules of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA).
- Prosecutions under the CDSA often require expert evidence about the nature of alleged drugs and about whether the circumstances suggest that a person was trafficking drugs.
- Issues about whether the accused person had “knowledge” and “control” over alleged drugs often figure at the forefront of a CDSA prosecution.
- Many prosecutions involving the CDSA engage the constitutional rights that protect an individual’s rights to privacy and to not be unlawfully detained or arrested – as guaranteed by sections 8 and 9 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Whether the case requires an attack on the prosecution’s experts or an attack on the conduct of the police officers, our lawyers consider all angles of drug offences to find the best defences to fit each case.