A marijuana trafficking case against a Saskatchewan man has gone up in smoke after he argued in court that he simply tokes a lot of pot.
Devon Douglas Lavallee was charged after RCMP found about a pound of marijuana in his vehicle during a traffic stop near Weldon, southeast of Prince Albert, last August.
During the trial, an RCMP constable testified that Lavallee possessed the two half-pound bags of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.
However, Lavallee said he is a heavy marijuana user, having smoked between five and 13 grams of pot a day for 13 years, and argued that the large amount of pot was for personal use. He told the court he uses it recreationally and to relieve chronic back pain.
In a decision released online earlier this week, provincial court Judge Felicia Daunt said while Lavallee is “prone to exaggeration,” she accepted his assertion that he smokes at least five grams of marijuana a day.
The judge noted that Mounties didn’t find a scale, cellphone, small plastic bags or other paraphernalia associated with drug trafficking during a search of Lavallee’s home.
Daunt found Lavallee not guilty of possession for the purpose of trafficking, but guilty of the lesser offence of simple possession.
