Manitoba man dreams of heading to U.S. for 'silly county fair' after Ottawa vows to expedite pot pardons

After a 40-year prohibition from entering the United States for the misdeed of carrying an ounceof pot, Gary Jones doesn't imagine his life would change much if his criminal record was wiped out.

He wouldn't leave hisWinnipeg home or thecabin by the lake that he loves so much, he says.

There is one thing he would like to do, though.

"Justto cross the border andgo to a silly county fair, havea corn dog, a candy apple and listen to Bruce Springsteen belt out Born in the U.S.A.,"Jones said Wednesday, hours after the federal government announcedit would make iteasier forpeople previously convictedof possessing cannabis to obtain a pardon.

"I don't want to go to New York, man.I just want to go to a county fair across the border," Jones told CBCNews after waitingin line forrecreational pot atDelta 9 in St. Vital on the store's opening day.

They made me feel like a drug addict, like a heroin addict.- Gary Jones

As recreational cannabis became legal on Wednesday, the federal Liberal government saidit would waive the $631 fee and years-long waiting period for Canadians seeking a pardon after being found guilty ofpossessing 30 grams of pot or less.

The legislation still needs to be tabled and passed in Parliament.

After that happens, Jones said he plans to apply for a pardon.

"If it passes, I will be there the next day."

Blaming himself

A pardon would absolve him of his 1978 charge.

He was, in his own words, a "dumb 18-year-old" when he smoked a joint atan empty bus shelter, outside the Curtis Hotel in Winnipeg.

The smoke had cleared, butthe smell hadn't,when an elderly woman stepped intothe shack and quickly walked out. Minutes later, police found their suspect, Jones remembered.

"I had my big winter parka on and the very first pocket they went into, there it was." He had about an ounce of pot, he says, or 28 grams just under the 30-gram limit Canadians can now legally carry.

He never fought the criminal charge, which came with a fine of around $250.

"I certainly had no qualms about what happened, but it was silly," Jones says now.

Goodale says legislation coming for pot pardons

6 years ago

Duration 1:52

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says legislation will be introduced before the end of the year to allow pardons for pot possession charges, and says there will be no waiting period and no fees.

He says thecriminal record restricted him, as ayoung 18-year-old with somegrowing up to do.

"I felt like Idid something wrong. I felt like, tome, they made such a severe nature of it they made me feel like a drug addict, like a heroin addict."

Jones went on to becomea Handi-Transit driver andlater worked at adrop-in centre for teens, until his recent retirement.

"Anything the Canadian border control or U.S. border crossing has to say to me does not equate [to] what I did for the less fortunate people of the world," he said.

Consequences far-reaching

The step toward amnesty was also applauded by SharonPerrault, a program manager with theJohn Howard Society of Manitoba, which advocates for reforms tothe criminal justice system.

"I think it's wonderful,"Perraultsaid of the plan.

"They're looking at the repercussions of past convictions and how that maybe has held people back in some way, so now they're saying, 'OK, we've legalized it. What can we do to remedy it?'"

Public Safety Minister RalphGoodalesaid Wednesday an easier pardon process will"shed the burden and stigma" of a criminal record.

And waiving the fee will make a difference for Jones, who says he never applied for a pardon because he didn't want to pay for it. The fee was a considerable expense for a single father, he said.

"I raised twokids on my own for a lifetime so [hundreds of dollars] was a lot of money to me," Jones said.

"It was nice clothes for my kids. It was nice shoes for my kids."

With files from Austin Grabish