Drug cases made up 72 per cent of federal prosecutions last year: report

By: The Canadian Press

OTTAWA - A report from the country's public prosecution service says 72 per cent of all cases handled by federal prosecutors last year involved drugs.

The more than 58,000 drug prosecutions stand in stark contrast to other areas of federal law — including fewer than 10,000 cases for infractions involving health, safety and economic and environmental security.

The annual report says there were just three prosecutions under the Criminal Code's anti-terrorism provisions.

The report comes as the Conservative government introduces a sweeping omnibus crime bill that will add new drug offences to the Criminal Code, including tough new minimum sentences for people convicted of growing six pot plants or more.

The report says federal prosecutors opened almost 34,000 new drug files last year — 70 per cent of all new cases, which covered everything from possession of a few grams of marijuana to complex trafficking cases involving cocaine and methamphetamines.

The report says these complex cases made up just over two per cent of the drug caseload, but ate up more than a third of all litigation time.