Greenbud

Marijuana Party founder jailed

CBC News British Colombia | Aug 19 2004


SASKATOON - B.C. Marijuana Party president Marc Emery has been sentenced to three months in jail in Saskatchewan for drug trafficking.

Emery had pleaded guilty to passing one marijuana joint to someone else in a downtown Saskatoon park back in March.

He has 10 previous marijuana-related offences on his record. Many are for trafficking in connection with his marijuana seed business.

But in the past, Emery has only been fined.

Provincial Court Judge Albert Lavoie said he is sending Emery to jail to send a message.

The judge said Emery's crime was clearly a political act – but said Emery had flaunted the law, and there was a need for a stronger deterrent.

LINK: B.C. Marijuana Party

Emery's lawyer, Lianne Johnson, says the judge did what he had to do given her client's record.

"However I do have an issue with the length of the sentence. I think three months is a bit of overkill perhaps for passing one joint to one person."

Johnson says she will try to appeal. But doesn't know if it would even be heard before Emery finishes his jail time.

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"I believe in the near future, the government will use anti-drug hysteria to set up a police state."
-author William S. Burroughs, 1947

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TimeGuardian

He's a cool guy.

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Consequences dictate a course of action... It doesen't matter what's right, it's only wrong if you get caught. - tool

xxdr_zombiexx

Wow... I am sure all Canadians breathe a collective sigh of relief now tht this terrorist has be brought to justice.



Everybody has seen him grassing his own people with his giant weapon of grass destruction.

Too bad there isn't a statue people can pull down.....

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Torture Good, Healthcare Bad, Marijuana Evil.

There's no money for your issue so long as we're squandering $50 billion a year on the DrugWar. Ben Masel

rick

Pretty shameful, really. Im sure Mark will be fine and this wont change is outlook on things one bit. I am sorry for him and his family.

rick

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xxdr_zombiexx

I'll wager this only makes Marc stronger. Marc has now been elevated to Martyr Status. Always a bad move for the Power. He is a Political Prisoner

It's so extreme and socially backwards to even attempt to paint passing a joint from 1 person to another a "trafficking".

The laws in Canada are still so up in the air (correct me if I am wrong), and this has the intense stink of vicious arbitrainess. I am told that Saskatchewan is so stuck in a time warp that many people there do not even listen to "modern music", which is consistent with this extremely backwards choice of actions.

Deterrent has not worked for 70 years, (as evidenced by the global popularity of cannabis) but the Judge in Saskatchewan is likely uninformed about the existence of our modern world..... nor Canada's Constitution.

Anybody want to agree that Da Judge based this ruling on personal ideologies?

Anybody think there will be a lot more work for the Saskatoon post office?

Qwiz

Are we calling for a J’had?

I don't care who it is, I don't want to see anyone in the joint for passing a joint.
Qwiz

solutions

Three months for one spliff, and this lawyer says the judge "did what he had to do" She doesn't have an issue with a jail term per se, just with the lenght and she will try to appeal (?!?)



For the Love Of Law give the man a real lawyer....

Unless of course he actually wants to be convicted to make a statement and likes the attention or something, this is just unbelievable... any twelve year old could have come up with a better defense

__________________
3 monkeys sitting under a coconut tree
discussing things as they are set to be
Said one to the other, now listen you two
there's a strange rumor that can't be true
they say man was descended from our noble race
but the very idea is a big disgrace
no monkey ever deserted his wife
or her baby to ruin their lives.
Damian Marley - Educated Fools

Suetaz

PRESS RELEASE

AUGUST 23, 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

POT ADVOCATES PETITION JUSTICE MINISTER IN CASE OF ‘JAIL FOR A JOINT’

OTTAWA – Justin Minister Irwin Cotler is receiving an increased volume of mail in his inbox this week as pot advocates across the country petition him to release one of their most provocative leaders.

The effort comes just days after Marc Emery, President of the B.C. Marijuana Party and one of Canada’s most well known proponents of marijuana law reform, was sentenced in a Saskatoon Provincial Court to three months in jail for passing a marijuana cigarette (joint) to another person. The sentence, viewed by many as extreme, has evoked outrage in the marijuana community. Mr. Emery has the dubious distinction of being the first person in Canada to be charged and convicted of trafficking for passing a joint.

Supporters are using his incarceration to underline their objections to the government’s plans to reintroduce its old marijuana legislation, expected to be re-tabled in the fall. Activists feel Mr. Emery’s circumstances illustrate that the old decriminalization bill is flawed, that it doesn’t address the real issues and that it ignores entirely the unanimous report of the Senate Committee.

Supporters are demanding that Cotler intervene in the case. They are seeking Emery’s release and a promise that the government's marijuana legislation will be a lot better than the bill that died on the order paper twice before.

Currently under Canadian law the non-commercial transfer of marijuana between individuals, or sharing, is considered trafficking. The proposed Liberal government’s decriminalization bill would not change this aspect of the law despite strong objections by the NDP.

In fact, if passing a joint is trafficking then Sheila Martin would have been guilty of marijuana trafficking when she gave pot brownies to the Prime Minister as he alluded in several end-of-year interviews last year, she too was once technically guilty of the offence of trafficking marijuana. The charge of trafficking carries with it a possible seven year jail sentence for simply passing a joint – or a pot brownie -- to a friend or loved one.

A Statistics Canada report released July 21 revealed that over one third (over ten million Canadians) have used marijuana in their lifetime. In September 2002, a Senate of Canada report unanimously concluded that “the continued prohibition of cannabis jeopardizes the health and well-being of Canadians,” recommending a regulatory approach to marijuana in Canada.

Contact Info:

Media Contact BC Marijuana Party (604)684-7076; or Chris Bennett (604) 215-7973
************************************************** *****

Here's a post from the Cannabis Culture forums - a message from Marc:

Marc wants everyone informed about the guilty plea.

Marc emailed his lawyer Leanne Johnson prior to the appearance in Saskatoon, and mentioned that he was guilty of smoking pot. She took this as a guilty plea, and when Marc showed up on Thursday for his "trial", he was shocked to find that the guilty plea had been entered and it wasn't a trial, but the sentencing. He had not been consulted by Johnson, and was prepared for discussion and a trial. He got to court and met Johnson, but was shocked when she entered his plea for him right off the bat.

HOWEVER, Marc wants everyone to know that even if he had plead not-guilty, the outcome would have been the same. Judge Albert Lavoie had it out for Marc, and sentenced him based on all of his prior convictions and his reputation; Lavoie admitted it was based on over-all behaviour and flaunting of the law.

But please, Marc asks, do not send hate mail to Johnson or give her any grief. She's new to the law and already apologized. Many others (myself included) are disgusted by Johnson's actions, but it's not her fault Marc is in jail and the same results would have occurred.

There is no better time than now for this to have happened, Marc says, and Lavoie's plan to make an example of him is backfiring. Marc isn't happy to be in jail, but he is pleased that he was prepared for this (if it had to be) and that there's nothing that will be missed or overlooked even while he's gone.

Another point: DO NOT hassle the jail staff. They have nothing to do with this. Write letters to Judge Albert Lavoie and the Minister of Justice, Honourable Irwin Cotler.

Judge Albert Lavoie
Provincial Court of Saskatchewan
220 19th st.
Saskatoon, SK
S7K 2H6

The Honourable Irwin Cotler
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
284 Wellington st.
Ottawa ON
K1A 0H8

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413

how stupid can the politicians get?
First they arrest Tommy Chong for selling speciality glass on the Internet,
and then and go and Bust Marc Emery for "trafficking" a joint in a park?

Hey Marc, Look pretty for Jay Leno...

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"Penalties against drug use should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against the possession of marijuana in private for personal use."