What is drug production?

The CDSA prohibits the production of drugs included in Schedule I, II, III, or IV, and heavily punishes anyone caught producing drugs or anyone who is knowingly in the possession of materials for the purpose of producing drugs. Producing any of the prohibited drugs by any method or process, whether it is manufacturing, synthesizing, cultivating or harvesting, will be considered drug production.

The Penalty For Drug Production In Canada

The penalty for drug production depends on the nature of the drug you have been charged with producing. If you are convicted of producing a Schedule I drug, you are liable for a sentence of up to life in prison and a minimum of two years in prison. If aggravating factors including (but not limited to) the production caused a potential threat to the security, health, or safety of a person under the age of 18, or if the production caused a potential public safety hazard in a residential area, or if you set up a trap somewhere around the centre of production, your minimum term of imprisonment will be increased to 3 years.

If you are convicted of producing a Schedule II drug other than marijuana, you are liable for a sentence in prison of up to life, with a minimum term of one year. If you are caught producing marijuana, you will be liable for a term in prison of up to 14 years in prison, and a minimum of 6 months in prison if you are found with more than 5 plants.

If you are convicted of producing a Schedule III drug, you are guilty of an indictable offence and will be liable for a term in prison of up to 10 years. With respect to Schedule IV substances, you could be found guilty of an indictable offence and can face a sentence of up to 3 years in prison. If you are caught only with the materials that you know will be used in the production of some drugs, you could be guilty of a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

Since this offence is taken so seriously by the government, there is a very limited range of sentencing options available to an accused who is convicted of drug production. The CDSA and the Criminal Code eliminate sentencing options that would allow an offender to avoid time spent in prison, like conditional sentence orders, suspended sentences, and time served intermittently. Moreover, discharges are not available to someone who has been convicted of drug production. Because of the high likelihood of time spent in prison in the event of conviction, if you have been charged with drug production it is crucial that you contact one of our skilled criminal defence lawyers immediately so we can begin working on mounting a full and effective defence to your charges.