POSSESSION, TRAFFICKING AND PRODUCTION
Drug Lawyer in Penticton
As the drug lawyer Penticton clients rely on, Julian Van Der Walle knows most drug cases here turn on two questions. Can the Crown prove you possessed the drugs, and was the search legal? Julian goes after both from the first day of your file.
Charged with a drug offence?
Say nothing beyond your name to Penticton police. Silence can’t be used against you.
Federal Crown prosecutes drug cases, not the provincial Crown.
No minimums since Bill C-5 repealed mandatory jail for drug offences in 2022.
Called to the bar in 2010
Julian Van Der Walle has practised criminal defence only ever since.
Search and seizure
Julian has lectured other defence lawyers on it.
100+ trials
Run by Julian in BC and Alberta trial courts.
Free first call
Who prosecutes a Penticton drug charge
Most criminal charges in BC are prosecuted by the provincial Crown. Drug charges are different. Federal prosecutors from the Public Prosecution Service of Canada handle them at the Penticton Law Courts, with their own policies on diversion, plea offers and sentencing.
Julian Van Der Walle has defended production, cocaine trafficking and possession for the purpose of trafficking files, and has won acquittals in all three. As a Penticton drug lawyer he knows how these prosecutors approach a file and where they tend to compromise.
Federal prosecutors
The Public Prosecution Service of Canada runs drug files at 100 Main Street. Julian negotiates with them directly.
Border consequences
For anyone near the Osoyoos crossing or working in the US, a drug conviction can end travel south. Julian factors that into every decision.
Drug charges Julian defends in Penticton
Most South Okanagan drug charges come under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
Simple possession
CDSA section 4. Julian pushes for diversion, a discharge or a withdrawal so the charge ends without a record.
Trafficking and PPT
Section 5, including possession for the purpose of trafficking. Julian challenges inferences drawn from packaging, cash or texts.
Production
Section 7, including grow operations. Julian examines the warrant behind the search, which usually decides these files.
Defences to a drug charge
The Crown has to prove you knew the drugs were there and had control over them. That’s a real hurdle when drugs show up in a shared vehicle, a borrowed car or a Penticton house where several people live, and Julian Van Der Walle tests it hard.
Then there’s the search itself. If police went into your car, your phone or your home without a valid warrant or proper grounds, Julian applies to exclude the evidence under section 24(2) of the Charter. Without the drugs there is usually no case left, as some of Julian’s past wins show.
Knowledge
Can the Crown show you knew the drugs were there?
Control
Were the drugs actually yours to control, or someone else’s?
The warrant
Was it based on accurate, sufficient information?
The search
Did police stay inside what section 8 of the Charter allows?
Drug files across the South Okanagan
Drug charges here range from small possession files out of downtown Penticton to production cases on rural properties around Oliver, Keremeos and the Similkameen. Highway 97 and Highway 3 stops are a common starting point too, where a traffic stop turns into a vehicle search, and those files run through the Penticton courthouse. Julian appears there regularly as a criminal lawyer in Penticton.
BC’s small amount decriminalization pilot has changed several times since 2023, so what applies depends on exactly when and where you were arrested. Julian checks that first. If police haven’t charged you yet, read what to do when police want to interview you.
Penticton Law Courts
100 Main Street. Drug charges from Penticton, Oliver, Osoyoos and Keremeos are generally heard here.
How Julian handles a Penticton drug charge
01
Free consultation
Julian reviews what you’re charged with, what police found and what you said.
02
Full disclosure
Julian requests warrant materials, search notes, lab results and phone evidence.
03
Charter challenge
Julian files an application to exclude evidence if the search went too far.
04
Resolution or trial
Diversion, a discharge, a withdrawal, or a trial in Penticton.
Drug charge questions
Julian Van Der Walle answers what people charged in Penticton ask most often.
Police found drugs in a car I was driving but they aren't mine. Can I be convicted?
Only if the Crown proves you knew the drugs were there and had control over them. Being the driver isn’t enough on its own. How long you had the vehicle, where the drugs were and what you said all matter, and Julian examines each one.
Is jail mandatory for trafficking in BC?
No. Bill C-5 repealed the mandatory minimum sentences for drug offences in 2022 and made conditional sentences available again. Trafficking is still treated seriously, and Julian argues the facts that drive the sentence.
Can a Penticton possession charge end without a record?
Often, yes. Possession charges can be resolved through diversion, a discharge or a withdrawal, especially for a first offence. Julian pushes for those outcomes with the federal Crown.
Should I talk to police to explain?
No. Give your name and ask for a lawyer. Statements made to explain things are often exactly what the Crown uses to prove knowledge, and a drug lawyer Penticton police can’t pressure is the person to explain things to.
Need a drug lawyer in Penticton?
Talk to Julian Van Der Walle before you talk to anyone else about the charge. The first consultation is free and confidential.
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Call 1.866.706.8857
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