Where an offender suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder or similar mental condition arising from prior trauma (such as imprisonment and torture), the sentencing court must consider both the offender's increased vulnerability to commit the offence and the more onerous nature of imprisonment for that offender. Individual subjective circumstances cannot be dismissed on the basis that each factor does not sufficiently distinguish the offender from others; the totality of individual differences must be considered. The Bernier sentencing range of 8½ to 11 years for couriers of low-end commercial quantities of cocaine/heroin remains applicable.
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