Possession of a Schedule I or II substance for the purpose of trafficking
R. v. Budd
Sentence and the Crown's position
A conditional sentence is served in the community, usually under house arrest. It counts as no custody here.
What the law allows
Randall Stanley Budd pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking after police found 82.35 grams in a backpack at his feet in Chilliwack in March 2022. The Crown sought two years in custody followed by probation; the defence sought a suspended sentence or, alternatively, a six-month conditional sentence. Justice McDonald imposed an 18-month conditional sentence order, treating him as a first-time offender and citing Gladue factors, his long-standing addiction and his entry into a residential treatment program.
In the judge's words
1I conclude that a CSO would be a proportionate sentence because, for example, CSOs were intended to address the problem of over incarceration which is especially relevant to an Indigenous person with many Gladue factors applicable.
The record
Sources
- R. v. Budd, 2025 BCSC 2460 Court decision, CanLII, December 4, 2025
[45] The Crown submits that an appropriate sentence is a two-year custodial sentence followed by one year of probation.
[47] The defence seeks a suspended sentence with a strict probation order or, alternatively, a six-month conditional sentence order with probation to follow.
[2] On June 16, 2025, the accused entered a guilty plea to one count of possession of Methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking, contrary to s. 5(2) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, S.C. 1996, c. 19.
[100] I conclude that a CSO would be a proportionate sentence because, for example, CSOs were intended to address the problem of over incarceration which is especially relevant to an Indigenous person with many Gladue factors applicable.
[104] For the offence of unlawfully possessing methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking, I sentence you to 18-months to be served as a conditional sentence order.
- Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, s. 5 Record, Justice Laws Website
- R. v. Budd, 2025 BCSC 2460 Court decision, Courts of British Columbia