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More than 8,300 people older than 25 were charged, and 1,361 were convicted.

The total numbers are likely even higher, because in Quebec and New Brunswick the prosecution service only deals with offences being investigated by the RCMP, not other police agencies. It also doesn’t prosecute offences under the Youth Criminal Justice Act in all provinces.

The number of convictions could also increase significantly, as half of the prosecutions are still in progress.

The NDP has been urging the government to decriminalize marijuana as an interim measure until it’s legalized.

“I have always maintained that (prosecutions are) a sincerely unfair practice to continue on the road to legalization,” MacGregor said.

“I just feel that there could have been a different way to approach this.”

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The Liberals tabled their pot legislation, Bill C-45, in April, and plan to legalize marijuana by July 2018. They are selling the law as a way to protect minors and to cut off profits to organized crime.

“Until Bill C-45 becomes law, the existing laws regarding cannabis remain in effect,” Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould told the National Post in a statement. “The decisions to arrest and prosecute reside with the relevant police forces and with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada.”

Still, it seems the number of possession charges may have declined since the Liberals were elected.

According to Statistics Canada, about 21,000 people were charged with cannabis possession in 2015, a drop of about 3,000 from the year before. Official figures for 2016 will be available in July.