Mark Emery and 'Marijuana Man' Arrested

[mike59271]

B.C. pot activist arrested in extradition bid

CTV.ca News Staff

Police raided a marijuana seed store run by the B.C. Marijuana Party leader in Vancouver Friday, at the request of U.S. authorities in Seattle.

In connection with the 11 a.m. raid, Greg Williams a.k.a. "Marijuana Man" was arrested at the store, Michele Rainey at her Vancouver home and high-profile B.C. Marijuana Party leader Marc Emery was picked up in Nova Scotia while attending "Hempfest 2005."

U.S. officials are accusing the trio of growing marijuana, distributing marijuana seeds and conspiring to engage in money laundering, following an 18-month investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Emery runs a mail-order website that distributes marijuana seeds to clients in a variety of countries, including the United States.

At a news conference in Seattle, U.S. authorities announced they've asked for Emery to be extradited to the U.S. to face drug charges.

Seattle DEA Special Agent Rod Benson said that Emery displayed an "overwhelming arrogance and abuse of the rule of law."

"The message here is clear," Benson said. "Those engaged in the cultivation, and trafficking of illegal drugs will eventually pay a steep price."

The price of a conviction could carry a sentence ranging from 10 years to life in prison.

Chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office Jeff Sullivan said the charges are based on what Emery allegedly does in the U.S. and not what he does in Canada.

Vancouver Constable Howard Chow said Canadian law enforcement was approached by the DEA to aid in the investigation.

"The DEA came to us about a year ago surrounding Marc Emery and asked for our assistance in the criminal investigation that had to do with trafficking a controlled substance," Chow told CTV.ca News. "It's an ongoing investigation. There may be further charges that come out of this.

Emery's site has been operating for more than five years with no action being taken until today.

"It just comes in terms of resources and priority. We get information and we act on it and we deal with it at that time," Chow said.

"You can expect that anybody who engages in criminal activity on a high profile, such as Marc Emery does -- you're not going to expect to do it forever before you have to account for your actions."

Known as "The Prince of Pot", the leader of the B.C. Marijuana Party has been a vocal advocate for the legalization of marijuana.

In 1994, Emery opened a Vancouver-based store called Hemp BC selling marijuana paraphernalia. Police raided his store in 1996 and again in 1998, confiscating his entire stock.

After those raids, Emery opened the mail-order business selling the seeds. He also publishes "Cannabis Culture" magazine and runs "Pot TV" on the Internet.

He ran for mayor of the city of Vancouver in 1996 and again in 2002, coming in fifth place.

In 2004, Emery served a 90-day sentence in a Saskatoon jail for passing a marijuana joint.

Party spokesperson Kirk Tousaw said he had not spoken to Emery since the raid.

"I can express a pretty significant disappointment that police would choose to go this route to go after Marc and others who have been operating there for years with no harm to anyone," Tousaw told CTV.ca News.

"The timing stinks. They do it on Friday so that they can keep you in jail the maximum amount of time before you can be released on bail," said Tousaw.

Emery's operation on West Hastings houses a hemp shop, a book store, the headquarters for PotTV and the operations behind an Internet-based seeds sales company.

According to police, Emery's seed business rakes in about $3 million a year.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...hub=TopStories

[smokedank4life]

All for selling seeds, how dumb

[Packman]

3 Million a year. Fuck, I should be selling seeds.

[hotsauc3]

Fuck that, Emery is a mild mannered guy, real decent fellow, I met him on 420 .This pisses me off that our own police force turned in one of our own for the fucking states. They better not extradite him, that would be absolutely disgusting! Right now the states is on the top of my bash list, they just struck a nerve close to home with me.

[Liquidtruth]

There are many people who sell seeds, both in Canada and in the US... They're not being busted, but Emery is. This has little to do with selling seeds and everything to do with politics. If Canada allows this extradition it will be a sad day indeed. The US could use some smarting up when it comes to its views on weed. Let us hope sanity prevails in Canada.

[blowbud4life]

Fucking Bullshit. It's fucking Canada.

[DISRUPT]

ugh, I feel guilty about living in the US because of all this crap we pull, personally I hate how this country is run, based on fear, paranoia, and propaganda controlling the people..im sorry canadians, we're not all bad.

[dem0]

Originally Posted by DISRUPT

..im sorry canadians, we're not all bad.

Well, I believe you.
It's just that the bad ones are louder than the good.

[stoned_soldier]

Liquidtruth speaks the liquid truth, it's all politics.. this man is a politician and a businessman and they'd love to see him go down.. they (DEA) think that it serves as an example to all who follow in his footsteps, we'll they're wrong!

the DEA fuckin' pisses me off!
the only reason they even prolong the criminalization of marijuana is b/c they would lose so much funding if it were legal.. admission of guilt is also one thing that most people are good at.. they stick to what they said in the past and stay true to it even when they know they're wrong.. even a DEA judge said it's the safest substance known to man.. geez they piss me off!!!!!!

someone should bomb their headquarters (ok not really, but damn, they piss me off)
if the DEA is readin this, this is not a threat, just a reminder to wise up and know the truth and ACT ON IT!!!!

edit: DEA = Dumb Effete Assholes

[sensimil]

Canadians, and Americans, this is important if you think that eradicating Mr Emery to the US is wrong. we all need to speak up to help Canada's Justice Minister, Irwin Cotler make the RIGHT decision.
http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/4471.html