There's a police chief and mayor who will be looking for new jobs come municipal elections. People won't be happy paying increased property taxes to fund marijuana arrests that have no chance of conviction, especially during the transition to legalization. I would argue that any marijuana charge, short of large-scale trafficking, can be successfully won easily anywhere in Canada. The threat to your liberty, even a financial one, must be justifiable in a free and democratic society. With the federal government elected on a marijuana legalization promise and currently engaged in creating those reforms and eliminating criminal code, it would be impossible for a prosecutor to argue any penalty for the defendant or cost to the taxpayer is in any way justifiable. Prohibition is effectively over now, some are just going to take a little longer to figure things out. There aren't many people in BC worried about walking around with a bag in their pocket, even the RCMP realize trying to stop it is impossible and pointless.