Summary
This report is a companion to a report produced by Darryl Plecas, Irwin M. Cohen, Amanda McCormick, and Tara Haarhoff that examined the relationship between police drug files in British Columbia with submissions to the Health Canada Drug Analysis Service Laboratory for 2004 to 2008. The main purpose of that report was to assess and consider explanations for the overall reduction in submissions to the Health Canada Drug Analysis Service Laboratory over that period of time. The purpose of this report is to provide a closer examination of the marijuana drug files coming to the attention of police agencies, particularly to the RCMP detachment in Surrey, British Columbia between 2004 and 2008. More specifically, this report will analyze and compare the changes in the quantity of marijuana files, the nature of the associated offences, and the clearance status of these files between these time period and between Surrey, the Lower Mainland, and the rest of British Columbia.