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Lothar121

Pot Crusader Facing Life In Prison, But 'Blessed'
CTV.ca | 03/06/06

B.C. pot activist Marc Emery, facing a life sentence in a U.S. prison for selling marijuana seeds, says he is blessed by his international fame.

"I'm right at the point in my career where I expected to be, if I was successful …. That's what I want to do, I've always wanted to be the marijuana representative for people around the world," he told CTV's Canada AM Monday from Vancouver.

"And now I've got this international audience and this international stage to explain to people why prohibition is wrong and why I'm the person to lead us into an enlightened era of tax and regulated distribution of marijuana."

Emery, 48, the leader of B.C.'s Marijuana Party, doesn't deny the charges against him. He is facing an extradition hearing later this year.

Emery says he isn't afraid of being incarcerated.

"I've had a great life and I've anticipated this all my life," he said.

In fact, he says he is "flattered" U.S. drug enforcement officers have paid so much attention to him and called him Canada's biggest trafficking kingpin because it further highlights his crusade.

Emery feels he is being rewarded for his life's work, and told CBS's 60 Minutes on Sunday: "I'd rather see marijuana legalized than me being saved from a U.S. jail."

Emery, the founder of Cannabis Culture magazine and Internet-based Pot-TV, has been arrested 21 times in the past. He has been mostly fined, but in 2004 spent 62 days in a Saskatoon jail for trafficking after passing a joint.

He says it has all been worth it, considering what marijuana advocates have been able to accomplish.

"Ten years ago there was no legal medical marijuana, no legal and thriving hemp industry, no hemp stores across Canada. Even books and magazines about marijuana ten years ago were banned in this country and so we've come a great deal," he said.

"In 10 years we've seen Canadians embrace and support a tax and regulated medical marijuana regime, as well as a retail and recreational marijuana regime. The Senate found and recommended that marijuana should be legalized in 2002. We're making tremendous progress."

In addition to selling millions of marijuana seeds, Emery readily admits spending millions of dollars from sales of the seeds on "democratic change" by supporting marijuana parties in several U.S. states, constituting money laundering.

"I've definitely tried to thwart the DEA and the U.S. government's war on marijuana and I like to think I've been very successful," he said.

Larry Campbell, a Canadian senator and former RCMP drug squad officer, told 60 Minutes he doesn't think Emery is a major drug trafficker. When asked what the public reaction would be if Emery is extradited, he replied: "I think there'd be outrage."

The outrage would be focused on the long arm of the U.S. law reaching up into Canada to charge someone many Canadians consider harmless.

No Canadian has ever gone to jail for selling seeds and only two people in 35 years have even been charged, Emery said.

"The most recent person fined for selling seeds in the year 2000 received a $200 fine."

The Canadian courts will decide whether or not to hand Emery over to the U.S. With a newly elected Conservative government, Emery fears that's likely to happen.

But he isn't changing his stance. Instead, he draws parallels to historic civil battles, and to the words of former peace activists.

"Martin Luther King said we are obligated to disobey unjust law," Emery said.

"This is a terribly unjust law. Nobody should go to jail for marijuana."

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God's Creation

Does anyone really think that the U.S. government making an example out of Emery is going to have any kind of impact on mj seeds being brought into the U.S.?

The seeds will come from somewhere else and will cost more, because the demand is still there and people will pay, or they will do as some people do and grow those males to harvest their own seeds.

This whole "War on Drugs" is a farse to keep the U.S. government dumping money into the endless black pit (government officials pockets).

Take Afghanistan for example: When the U.S. invaded and removed the Taliban from power the poppy plant cultivation went with it. Then the farmers started starving, had no other source of income and started cultivating the popply plant once again. No long term impact, just an increase in costs for something of great demand.

You can't rid the world of something when there is such a strong demand for it.

dedbr

Uh....Marc, if your reading this, you don't want to go to jail for the rest of your life. I don't know what kind if prison's they have in Canada, but we have the real kind down here, and they SUCK! The key word in your statement is "saved," because you would be praying for someone to save your tail if you get to visit.



Money laundering? Man, these DEA's are reaching for the moon with this crap. No wonder we haven't seen a copy of the charges. I'm gonna have to check this out. This is so lame, lame , lame. What else would I expect, tho, from those "people."


"Obligated to disobey unjust law" I wonder what Marty would say if he were alive? "Let my people go", or......"Pass that blunt, my brother."

Seems like this country's a couple bricks shy of a load lately. Course I can't talk, I lost the whole load about three year's ago. Ded

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alexnalaska

Have they changed the laws?

Last i knew a seed was constituted as a plant only if it were in soil? Marc surely did not send his seeds in dirt? If a seed is considered a plant: then every kid w/a dime bag is now a grower, and gets a plant charge for every seed he purchased w/his dime bag of swag? I'm really lost here. The DEA man said it on the TV. He said seeds were considered plants?


[quote] Uh....Marc, if your reading this, you don't want to go to jail for the rest of your life. I don't know what kind if prison's they have in Canada, but we have the real kind down here, and they SUCK!


Real kind? Prisons in the states are not bad. I have visited a few. Plus marc would be in a FED PRISON(let's hope not). THEY ARE way NICER THAN any STATES. plus you get congical visits and he would be a STAR in there. NO WORRIES. Hell, I saw lots of fights in 4 years, but most were punks fighting over men. Like women do. No raping going on. Way too many gays in the joint to rape some1 and catch a new charge. See most folks don't know this, but there is a court inside prison. And they can add REAL time to your sentence. They do have to take you to the local court house to get it down so it will stick proparly to your arse, but that is no problem. The wardens bro is the judge. See how it works.

I think Mr Emory knows what he is getting himself into. He has no worries in the USA prison systems. It's not like there going to send him to san quitin or levinworth ( again hope none). Remember martha?

Buzzby

No change in the laws. Fertile cannabis seeds have been illegal for as long as I can remember. Sterilized cannabis seeds are used as bird seed.

Seeds are not considered to be plants. They're considered to be marijuana and possession would be charged by weight, not per seed.

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Tokamak

Buzzby: No change in the laws. Fertile cannabis seeds have been illegal for as long as I can remember. Sterilized cannabis seeds are used as bird seed.

Seeds are not considered to be plants. They're considered to be marijuana and possession would be charged by weight, not per seed.

That's true. However, possession of, say, the baggie full of the seeds that you just removed from that Q of shwag (used only for cooking, of course) could be construed as intent to cultivate. Unless you ARE going to try growing, DON'T save your seeds. Sentimental souvenirs from bud smoked long ago are still quite dangerous legally.

Peace.

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johnnyd

I don't know how "blessed" he's going to feel when Bubba the B*tchmaker gets done a$$raping him.