| Canadian Pot activist Emery cuts deal for jail sentence with U.S.
Posted: 1/15/2008 2:46:57 AM | http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/01/14/bc-marcemerycutsdeal.html
Vancouver-based marijuana activist Marc Emery says his lawyers have cut a deal with U.S. prosecutors that would see him soon serving a minimum of five years in jail.
In July 2005, U.S. drug enforcement officials asked that Emery be extradited so he could face charges that he, Greg Williams and Michelle Rainey distributed millions of cannabis seeds to American customers at an annual profit of $3 million.
If Emery and his friends were extradited and found guilty in the U.S., they would each face a minimum 10-year sentence, with a chance of life in prison for the charges of conspiracy to grow marijuana, sell seeds and money laundering.
Emery, who has been free on bail while fighting extradition, told CBC News in an interview on Monday that his lawyers told him there was no hope to refute the U.S. allegations.
He said the Americans were demanding he serve a 10-year sentence, with at least five years in prison.
He said he has agreed to serve at least five years in jail in Canada, if it means his two friends facing the same charges can remain free.
If the federal government accepts the proposal, Emery said he could be behind bars in the U.S. within 60 days.
The U.S. prosecutors office isn't commenting on the plea bargain.
The so-called Prince of Pot has run several times for public office as leader of the Marijuana Party, and has fought several court battles to change Canadian cannabis laws.
The extradition hearing for all three co-accused is scheduled to begin next week in Vancouver.
But although Emery said he would accept the plea bargain to keep his friends from prison, he's adamant he did nothing wrong.
He said he remains bitter that after paying more than $500,000 in income tax from his business, Canadian officials who knew what he was doing have abandoned him.
"The Canadian postal service delivered these seeds for eleven years and knew full well what they were doing and they took my money,'' he said.
**** this, he was a Canadian, in Canada, offending only American sensibilities. While the completely harmless plant marijuana is illegal in Canada, that is not how the majority of Canadians feels about it. The only reason it is still illegal is because of pressure from the United States. His crime was victimless and we are long overdue for ending prohibition. At least he is not getting the death penalty. | |
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| Canadian Pot activist Emery cuts deal for jail sentence with U.S.
Posted: 1/15/2008 8:46:33 AM | | I heard him interviewed on CBC radio last night. He took the fall because his co-accused were facing major sentences. They did the same thing to Tommy Chong. It seems that the DEA is taking a page out of the Columbian Cartels' book: cooperate or we go after your family. | |
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| Canadian Pot activist Emery cuts deal for jail sentence with U.S.
Posted: 1/15/2008 9:21:21 AM | | Damn, he knowingly and willingly broke American Law, if an American knowingly and willingly broke a Cnadian law you folks would want him hung from the nearest Maple Leaf Tree, if you don't like our laws, then stay out period, I'd like too see him sent to Rikers Island and put in a cell with Bubba, maybe the next time he won't take America for granted. As for pot it is not a harmless drug, too many youngsters it is a gateway drug that leads to a life of addiction, and for anyone that aids in that kind of lifestyle that can permanently harm a kid, they are equivalent to a child molestor as far as I'm concerned both hurt youngsters for life.... | |
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| Canadian Pot activist Emery cuts deal for jail sentence with U.S.
Posted: 1/15/2008 10:04:42 AM | Marc Emery is the same guy who runs Cannibis Culture magazine. For years, he has been lifting news stories without consent from the publishers or taking the legal route and actually paying for archived stories. He has no regard for any law and I could care less if this man gets extradited.
A couple of years ago, I had written an article on sniffer dogs in high schools. It ended up in this publication without my or my publisher's consent and without payment to me. After doing some digging, we found they had lifted some 600 articles from one major newspaper alone and the list was long. | |
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| Canadian Pot activist Emery cuts deal for jail sentence with U.S.
Posted: 1/15/2008 10:23:29 AM |
he knowingly and willingly broke American Law
He didn't commit the crimes in the United States, so he shouldn't be extradited. He should be tried in Canada. Anyway, if he mailed the seeds to Americans, isn't the US Postal Service, who actually delivered the seeds, also at fault?
if an American knowingly and willingly broke a Cnadian law you folks would want him hung from the nearest Maple Leaf Tree
And the United States would tell us to get stuffed. | |
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| Canadian Pot activist Emery cuts deal for jail sentence with U.S.
Posted: 1/15/2008 10:35:31 AM |
He didn't commit the crimes in the United States, so he shouldn't be extradited. He should be tried in Canada. Anyway, if he mailed the seeds to Americans, isn't the US Postal Service, who actually delivered the seeds, also at fault?
If he was stupid enough to send them USPS he has committed a federal crime, and no the post office is not at fault. | |
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| Canadian Pot activist Emery cuts deal for jail sentence with U.S.
Posted: 1/15/2008 11:12:20 AM | You have to break a few eggs to make an omelette.
I applaud anyone who takes the fall for unjust, ill conceived laws. That may be the only way to get the laws changed.
Alaska, California, Colorado, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Maine, Minnesota, Ohio, and Oregon have DE-criminalised the possession of small amounts of marijuana. Usually less than an ounce.
It is kind of hypocritical that the U.S. is prosecuting Emery even if he sent seeds to a state that doesn't see it as a jailable offense.
I hope both sides (Canada and the U.S.) see that the way they are waging the "war on drugs" isn't working. Neither did prohibition.
Tobacco was my "gateway drug". So was caffeine. And alcohol.
I use all these responsibly. And although I don't smoke cigarretes, I do like a cigar once in a while.
I should be able to have a toke without going to jail too. | |
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| Canadian Pot activist Emery cuts deal for jail sentence with U.S.
Posted: 1/15/2008 1:39:17 PM |
gateway drug that leads to a life of addiction,
No it isn't. Self report studies have revealed that 70 million Americans have tried marijuana while only 3 million have tried hard drugs, meth, coke, heroin. Even assuming every one of those 3 million started with pot and are addicted to those hard drugs, that means only 4.2% of people have had their marijuana use become a gateway to addiction to more dangerous substances. Besides, what gateway there is surely aggravated by marijuana being stigmatised and associated with those drugs by virtue of being illegal. | |
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Jemue
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Joined: 1/26/2005
Msg: 10 | |
| Canadian Pot activist Emery cuts deal for jail sentence with U.S.
Posted: 1/15/2008 2:04:59 PM | As for pot it is not a harmless drug, too many youngsters it is a gateway drug that leads to a life of addiction .............
Drugs are bad'mmmmmm'kay.
Well I've worked and volunteered in the field and have seen first hand that not to be the case the vast majority of the time.
Tobacco was my "gateway drug". So was caffeine. And alcohol.
Though they are good taxable drugs!
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| Canadian Pot activist Emery cuts deal for jail sentence with U.S.
Posted: 1/15/2008 2:07:31 PM |
If Emery and his friends were extradited and found guilty in the U.S., they would each face a minimum 10-year sentence, with a chance of life in prison for the charges of conspiracy to grow marijuana, sell seeds and money laundering
It would Seem that if someone wants to make money by supplying a product that would appear to be in demand or, if someone cheats on thier income tax ~ they get more jail time than someone who SHOOTS another human being... Where's the justice here?
Money and not getting the Government's fair share of revenues seems to be the biggest crime in America. | |
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| Canadian Pot activist Emery cuts deal for jail sentence with U.S.
Posted: 1/15/2008 2:27:07 PM |
For years, he has been lifting news stories without consent from the publishers or taking the legal route and actually paying for archived stories.
Not to excuse what he did here, but the guy is a pretty radical right wing libertarian politically. I would imagine he doesn't believe in copyright laws.
On topic: he never went to the US. Any laws he broke, he broke on Canadian soil. But he only gets a $200 fine here, so the government here threw him to the wolves. | |
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| Canadian Pot activist Emery cuts deal for jail sentence with U.S.
Posted: 1/15/2008 2:31:58 PM | I as well as a few other friends have been denied entry into Canada because of alcohol related offenses. Now I believe prohibition has been over in the United States for something like 80 years? I don't think there ever was prohibition on alcohol in Canada. Canada was a major source for bootleg wiskey back in the day. (why do the Candians always want to smuggle illegal goods into the States? ) Alcohol happens to be legal in both countries now, yet Canada considers using it under certian circumstances a felony? Serious enough to keep people out of Canada. Why then should the United States be ripped for enforcing drug laws on drugs that are illegal in BOTH countries? BTW I don't happen to agree with the marijuana laws anyway BUT they are on the books for now. Like my mother used to say why can't people just get along? and since I can't get into Canada anymore here's to ya
BTW the alcohol laws I broke were on American soil not Canadian soil so why no entry? | |
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| Canadian Pot activist Emery cuts deal for jail sentence with U.S.
Posted: 1/15/2008 2:40:55 PM | If Marc Emery were trying to enter the US, I could see you saying, "We don't want your kind here." But he didn't.
And we did have prohibition here - we just did it before you with the same disastrous results. Alcohol flowed the other way at that time.
If I were trying to enter the US, your border guards have the right to deny me entry for any reason - it's your country. But the same goes the other way. Canada is our country, and Marc Emery did what he did here. Not there. So he should be subject to Canadian laws and Canadian penalties. This wasn't a war crime which we all agree should be able to be prosecuted anywhere; he sold seeds. Seeds which couldn't be smoked, or ingested to create a high. | |
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| Canadian Pot activist Emery cuts deal for jail sentence with U.S.
Posted: 1/15/2008 3:15:21 PM |
BTW the alcohol laws I broke were on American soil not Canadian soil so why no entry? It goes both ways. Our respective governments don't want you "bad guys" crossing either way. 
if you don't like our laws, then stay out period, I'd like too see him sent to Rikers Island and put in a cell with Bubba, maybe the next time he won't take America for granted. heheh..Are you for real? america for granted indeed.
. As for pot it is not a harmless drug, too many youngsters it is a gateway drug that leads to a life of addiction... Blah blah blah...
I'm glad Mr Emery doesn't have to head South...good for him. | |
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| Canadian Pot activist Emery cuts deal for jail sentence with U.S.
Posted: 1/15/2008 6:02:36 PM | All I can say is that a saavy businessman would know what is legal to mail both in Canada and in the United States. It's amazing how many people end up in jail for misuse of the mail when the state or feds can't get them on any other charges.
No one can convince me that the hero of this story didn't know that it was a crime to mail any amount of marijuana to any part of the United States. The fact that he did it for years shows his contempt of American law.
He will probably get to serve his time in federal prison. That's the Cadillac of the penal system because the feds spend more money per prisoner than the states do. He's lucky Louisiana didn't get ahold of him ala "Cool Hand Luke."
I'm sorry, but I have no sympathy for him. Flout the law at your own risk. Remember: most countries will extradite drug lords to the United States.
Edit: How did that pesky charge of money laundry come up against Mr. Emory? Conspiracy? I see we are dealing with more than just a few seeds. When a defense attorney says there is NO HOPE of refuting the charges, the defendant had better take the plea deal and put on the orange jump suit. I'm sure the defense attorney has looked for every possible defense available under the law. | |
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| Canadian Pot activist Emery cuts deal for jail sentence with U.S.
Posted: 1/16/2008 2:31:29 AM | From the DEA's press release
Today's DEA arrest of Marc Scott Emery, publisher of Cannabis Culture Magazine, and the founder of a marijuana legalization group, is a significant blow not only to the marijuana trafficking trade in the US and Canada, but also the marijuana legalization movement.
His marijuana trade and propagandist marijuana magazine have generated nearly $5 million a year in profits that bolstered his trafficking efforts, but those have gone up in smoke today.
Emery and his organization had been designated as one of the Attorney General's most wanted international drug trafficking organizational targets - one of only 46 in the world and the only one from Canada.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars of Emery's illicit profits are known to have been channeled to marijuana legalization groups active in the United States and Canada. Drug legalization lobbyists now have one less pot of money to rely on.
Which is an admission that this unprecedented extradition for ****ing SEEDS is 100% political. Marc Emery is a political prisoner. | |
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| Canadian Pot activist Emery cuts deal for jail sentence with U.S.
Posted: 1/16/2008 8:41:25 AM | Actually it was clear that if this had gone to trial he never would have gotten 5 years. He pled out because they were threatening his friends.
As far as the money laundering charge goes, that was the most ludicrous of all the charges. He declared all his income, filed quarterly returns and paid taxes. I imagine that some of the people who paid him $30 for seeds were using drug money, but then every convenience store, restaurant, Starbucks, Blockbuster, and every other business that sells something to the public is guilty of money laundering. | |
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| Canadian Pot activist Emery cuts deal for jail sentence with U.S.
Posted: 1/16/2008 9:39:23 AM | I regardless how you feel about weed, this guy is just a drug dealer and a criminal.
He broke the law and should pay for it like any other criminal.
Hes not a crusader to be admired.
Pot is an extremely powerful drug , is unhealthy, and can be highly addictive.
We have enough problems with legal drugs. | |
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| Canadian Pot activist Emery cuts deal for jail sentence with U.S.
Posted: 1/17/2008 6:44:43 AM | Actually, the Americans who obtained their seeds from him freed themselves from buying from dealers that may be committing far more serious crimes. In the long run, that perhaps hit those same dealers harder than most things the US government has actually done during it's "war on drugs".
I'd be far more impressed if they used their considerable power used and time spent going after heroin dealers, crack dealers, and methamphetamine dealers first. In the drug world, the person typically buying pot seeds is the one causing the LEAST problems -mainly done with low volumes for personal use.
Wait...catching the BIG fish .....that's A LOT harder.... ( And they bribe people to look the other way far more generously.) | |
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| Canadian Pot activist Emery cuts deal for jail sentence with U.S.
Posted: 1/17/2008 3:57:48 PM | Let me preface this by saying that I haven't smoked marijuana in almost 20 years. Not because it's illegal. I could care less about that. It's because when I smoked it, nothing ever got done. Some laws are just plain immoral. Marijuana, for any use should, be completely legal. We should be able to smoke it, eat it, plant it, sell it, have sex with it....whatever...
If you stop for half a minute and compare alchohol to marijuana, you will realize that one day of legal alcohol consumption in North America causes more damage, heartache, financial catrastrophy and grief than all the illegal marijuana smoking that takes place ON EARTH in a whole year.
Alcohol is the gateway drug. Not marijuana.
Not even medicinal marijuana or industrial/agricultural hemp are legal according to the backwards laws in this country. It's pure malevolence that makes these laws what they are.
Remember, hemp is to marijuana, what the California Poppy is to the opium poppy. We aren't advised to eradicate the Calif. Poppy. Just hemp plants. It's all fvcking insane.
The DEA and current administration have their minds made up. Please do not confuse them with the facts! | |
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| Canadian Pot activist Emery cuts deal for jail sentence with U.S.
Posted: 1/22/2008 8:25:31 PM | Message # 8 - Right On!!!
Also - I'll betcha Mr. Emery has been more upfront and "law abiding" in reporting his Tax revenues than many "legal" businesses!
I'm amazed that he's paid and reported on his income tax AND that he has been very open about his source of revenue.
I think the American Government has a whole lot worse to worry about than a little bloody weed! Gateway drug pfft!
Here's your gateway(s) to Dangerous Drugs:
Child Abuse
Rytalin
Alcohol
*** Prescription Pills
and
Lies
Lies about harmless drugs, lead people to think the Real Serious Crap is also harmless. I recall attending a drug lecture, while in the military - and smoking daily btw. "They" told us that marijuana was: hallucinogenic, depressant and addictive. They Lied, so why would our children listen to Anything else "they" say?
Mr. Emery is a hero. Anyone with the balls to stand up for what is right and stand against what is wrong, IS a hero. Our respective countries could do so much better with OUR money than to bust people over what nature provides wild and free in many countries. What's next - The states takes Mother Nature to court? lmfao
Not really funny .. more ridiculous. JMHO
A.S.is
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| Canadian Pot activist Emery cuts deal for jail sentence with U.S.
Posted: 1/23/2008 11:51:21 AM | 1. I don't like the term "gateway drug".
Right-wingers have an especially nasty habit of inventing labels to conceal their intellectual dishonesty. Words that stick in people's minds long after the science supporting the argument has been refuted. It's a cheap way of trampling serious discussion into important issues. Any idiot can shout "tin foil hat" and get a laugh. It's politics of the lowest common denominator, appealing to fear and ignorance. Serious discussion is dragged down into the mud of lies and confusion.
The facts/truth of the matter is people use and abuse drugs for a variety of reasons. Some people use prescription drugs under duress of severe physical pain, or stress, anxiety and mood disorders. Extensive use can lead to physical dependence and abuse. This is what happened to Rush Limbaugh. Rush suffers from back pain brought on by his obesity. Coupled with the stress of having to go on the radio and appear happy and well adjusted day after day, Rush like many celebrities began to abuse his medication. Eventualy resorting to prescription fraud to feed an addiction to oxycontin.
Doctors are well aware of the dangers of giving potentially addictive painkillers to patients under a lot of stress. But the entertainment industry is littered with enablers who will feed a celebrity's drug addictions if it helps them perform. That is the power of money. Professional sports has created an even more disturbing trend of athletes abusing painkllers on top of steroids. Painkillers and testosterone can create a potentially explosive combination. This wasn't started by someone smoking a joint. It's institutional. Anyone can get a bottle of pills to help them keep up with the bigger players. And the pressure to play on despite injuries is enormous. Fortunes and careers are at stake.
Then there are people who turn to drugs to cope with trauma. Men and women who were abused as children, who never got the love and security they needed, or grew up in families with a history of substance abuse. People can turn to self-medication for any number of reasons.
And there are always people who use drugs recreationally. To loosen up at a party. Or enhance a sexual encounter. Under circumstances similar to those where we indulge in legal drugs like alcohol.
Drugs will always be around us. But there is hope. Despite the long list of professional baseball players who have been outed as drug users, there are as many players who do not use performance enhancing drugs. Men who have decided no amount of fame and fortune is worth risking death and disability. Kids can do the same. Kids can learn to "just say no". But they need to be taught. Kids need to learn a lot of things.
Sooner or later, everyone is offered a ride home by a friend whose been drinking. Or given a glass of spiked punch and pressured into having sex. Children must learn how to approach situations where drugs are involved. Not because mom says it's bad. Those kids will be the first to give in to peer pressure. But how to approach drugs the same way you approach alcohol, sex or driving an automobile. With caution and the peace of mind of knowing you can make a rational decision. Saying no to a beer because your parents trusted you with the family car. Not using drugs because you want to focus on school and sports. Or because you just don't want a beer.
And parents need to teach them how to be responsible. Just like parents need to accept that parenting is their resonsibility. Parenting is not something you can leave up to schools and politicians. Trying to criminalize behaviour that happens each and every day is not going to protect your children. Passing laws that criminalize anyone who does something you wouldn't want your teenager to do is not only stupid. It is immoral. Kids need strong, supportive families. Not a dysfunctional justice system that locks up non-violent drug users and makes a mockery of our rights and freedoms.
I know that's hard work looking after your own kids when someone else could be doing it. All you yuppies who are used to parking your kids in front of the TV for eight hours a day while you have careers probably think you work really hard and all the money you earn justifies not looking after the kids you brought into this world.
Truth is most of us don't know what hard work is. Working hard at a career where you are rewarded with money and status is not hard work. Baking cookies and driving your kids to their soccer practice is not hard work. Roofing houses in the hot sun and going home and drinking a six pack is not hard work. It's not hard doing something you're good at and do each and every day. Hard work is taking on your responsibilities even when it is a tremendous challenge. Being the responsible parent even when you don't know where to begin and would rather indulge them.
More and more parents are blaming someone else for the fact their kids are growing up into selfish, neurotic and cynical copies of themselves. Because we're lazy. We run away from the problems we can't handle. Almost everyone has a stack of unopened bills. Or a kid that doesn't do well in school. Or waits until the car breaks down on the freeway before taking it in for service. Every single one of us is avoiding some or other responsibility that we don't want to deal with. And more and more that responsibility we run away from is our own children. We leave that mess for someone else to fix.
But it's not something the government can take care of by passing all kinds of laws will keep them safe. It's not the state's jurisdiction to lock up anyone who does something you wouldn't want your kids doing and keep the streets safe for you to neglect them. Your kids are ultimately your own responsiblity. Parents you need to raise your own damn kids. Not worry about what the people down the street are doing. Or what the people in Canada are smoking. Worry about your own kids.
2. Marc Emery's extradition is political. As a sovereign nation, our (Canada's) government has enormous discretion in who we extradite and under what circumstances. Mister Emery led a very successful campaign to decriminalize Canada's marijuana laws, including civil disobedience tactics that led the Supreme Court to overturn certain laws and force the government to make marijuana available to people who need it for medicinal purposes. The Liberals were prepared to go down this road. The Liberals created the very Charter of Rights that people like Mister Emergy have been using for over 20 years in advancing social progress. Whether its womens rights or gay marriage, it is not the politicians that have changed this nation, but its citizens. People like Emergy who have worked tirelessly to advance and enunciate the freedoms declared in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The Conservative Party is not as squeamish about giving in to pressure from the United States, and trampling the rights and due process of Canadian Citizens. Make no mistake, Steven Harper is an unscrupulous, lying son of a ****. He changes his name and political affiliation like a pair of underwar. And he's every bit as crooked as his war and prison-profiteering kin south of the border. And the Conservatives would not miss an opportunity to make an example of Mister Emery and reverse the social freedoms we've gained over the past generation. They are Conservatives after all. Conservatives thrive on fear and ignorance.
As Canadians we must also accept responsiblity as citizens. For what happens to our fellow citizens and our nation. Do we become subservient to American politicians and their corporate profit-hungry lobbyists who seek to privatize everything from our natural resources to our justice system? Or do we stand up for our rights and the rights of Marc Emery, as he stood up for our rights. | |
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