24. Regina v. T.P. [Provincial Court of Alberta, Calgary – October, 2011]

Client was searched by security personnel while seeking to gain entry to a “rave”. As a consequence of that search security personnel seized a large quantity (approximately 70 grams) of oxycodone and turned our client over to the police; the police charged our client with possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking. Oxycodone is an opiate derivative that is often used as a heroin/ morphine substitute and is viewed very seriously by our Courts – the starting point for conviction is three years imprisonment. At trial it was our intention to challenge the admissibility of the oxycodone on the basis of an unconstitutional search and seizure but we never got that far. Rather, serious issues arose for the Crown including a problematic expert report and untimely service of the certificates of analysis. Bottom line: rather than “roll the dice” relative to the trafficking prosecution we seized the opportunity to resolve this case by way of an entry of a guilty plea to simple possession of a controlled substance. A fine of $1,000.00 was imposed and the matter put to rest.