Free Marc Emery

Let's Bring Marc Home!
    • 07
    Sep

    Wife of B.C. marijuana activist optimistic about recent legalization developments in U.S.

    submitted by on September 7, 2010
    Tags: , ,
    Business in Vancouver
     
    With Marc Emery, B.C.’s leading marijuana activist, expected to receive a five-year jail sentence in the United States this Friday, his wife and fellow activist Jodie Emery is pointing to recent developments in the U.S.A.’s legalized marijuana movement as further evidence of the hypocrisy of the American and Canadian criminal codes.
     
    “Five years after his initial arrest you have California looking to legalize marijuana this fall [and] you have the original prosecutor in his case saying that marijuana should be legalized,” Jodie told Business in Vancouver on Tuesday morning.
     
    Jodie, who is the director of Cannabis Culture magazine and director-at-large for B.C.’s Green Party, also continues to claim that Marc’s arrest, which stemmed from the online sale of pot seeds from Canada into the U.S., was largely politically motivated.
     
    “You have marijuana seed sellers going in and out of the U.S. to trade shows and talking about how many seeds they sell, but they aren’t being arrested or facing any lengthy prison terms.”
    In a release Monday, Jodie added that though the Drug Enforcement Administration and the media have reported that Marc “made millions of dollars,” all of the money generated through seed sales was given away to activism groups and events.
     
    “Marc started selling seeds with the explicit goal of funding the marijuana legalization movement, which he did tremendously well, to the tune of $4 million dollars over the decade he was in business,” she said. “He paid his income tax on seed sales, and operated openly and transparently.”
     
    She said that “Free Marc Emery” rallies are being held in up to 60 cities around the world on September 18.
     
    While Marc’s earlier plea bargain will likely result in his receiving a five-year sentence this Friday in a U.S. federal court in Seattle, Jodie Emery is looking to maintain public awareness of his plight in order to have him promptly transferred to a Canadian prison to serve his time.
     
    She said if Emery, who is the leader of the BC Marijuana Party, can return to Canada to serve his sentence, he could be released on full-parole as early as November 2011.
     

    02
    Sep

    Marc Emery US Prison Blog #12: Letter to Jodie

    submitted by on September 2, 2010
    Tags: , ,
    By Marc Emery, Cannabis Culture
     
    Oh dear, my sweet Jodie, I feel wobbly today. I’ve a sore throat, a woozy head and a stuffy nose. I’m drinking hot liquids and lots of water, getting sleep, but these next few days will be trying. And I’ll admit, I’m a bit nervous about sentencing coming up on the 10th. Most inmates do get jumpy because its the biggest uncertainty of any prisoner, the sentencing! Even though I have an agreement in principle on a 5-year sentence, I’m still nervous that the judge could make it a longer sentence. So the next 10 days will be a little unnerving.
     
    My Transfer application to the Canadian corrections system goes in on that day too, I hope, through the Canadian Consulate here in Seattle. Then, about 6-8 weeks later, I’ll be sent to my designated prison somewhere in the US Bureau of Prison system, it could be Lompac or Taft Correctional Institution in California, or a place even as far away as Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Mississippi, New Mexico or Texas. I’m going to request Lompac, because it will be the low-security prison you can get to with the least difficulty, my sweetheart, to visit me; and even then, you’ll only be able to afford, barely, to see me every second weekend if people are still sending support and the store is doing well. You’ll fly to Los Angeles and then take a commuter flight to Santa Maria, and then a shuttle bus or taxi to Lompac. If I get sent to Taft, you’ll need to get someone to drive you to Bakersfield, so we’ll need to find some female supporters who live in Bakersfield who can help you out on those visit weekends.
     
    I’m excited that there are many individual and group actions going on in the many corners of North America and even abroad for the world-wide Marc Emery Support Day on Saturday, September 18th. Loretta Nall is going to march up Dexter Avenue in Montgomery, Alabama to the statehouse with some supporters. Dexter Ave. is where Martin Luther King’s Dexter St. church was, and she knows how much MLK’s example and work has impacted on my life. The Clemons family of Silver Spring, New Mexico are going to wear their Free Marc shirts and take signs to the Telluride Blues Fest on that day. There are correspondents of mine who are putting king size bed sheets on bridges over the main highway by their town in upstate New York. Barry Cooper in Austin, Texas will be organizing an action down by the Texas legislature. Numerous other people are doing activities, which are listed at www.WhyProhibition.ca/FreeMarcRally and www.FreeMarc.ca.
    Anyone who cares about my fate who wants to add their light to the sum of light to urge my return to the Canadian Correctional system can easily take a sign and just hold it up, wearing their Free Marc t-shirt if they have one, at their nearest busy intersection. You don’t have to go far. Three hours at a busy place in their hometown or city will been seen by thousands of people. Canadians, I hope, will also write Public Safety Minister Vic Toews before or after they go out on the streets and urge him to bring me back to Canada, as is the obligation of the government under law.
     
    I hope you’ve got a good informative list of suggestions at the www.FreeMarc.ca website and on my Facebook fan page. I bet many of my close friends have not even sent Vic Toews a letter in the mail yet. Friends should get each member of their family to write and ask him to approve my transfer request to serve my sentence in Canada. It’s easy to take it for granted that someone else will write on my behalf, but I bet even you, Mrs. Emery, haven’t written Vic Toews yet! So many tens of thousands of people who’ve met me, and I know care about me, have still not written a simple 4-paragraph letter on their computer, printed it out, put it in an envelope (no stamp required in Canada!) and dropped it in a letter box to Mr. Toews. I’ll need him to get thousands of letters to assure my repatriation, especially from older people with children, the people who vote.
    Please contact the Canadian Minister of Public Safety Vic Toews (pronounced "Taves") and ask him to approve Canadian citizen Marc Emery’s prison transfer application so Marc can serve his sentence in Canada. Please be polite and respectful when contacting Vic Toews.
     
    The Hon. Vic Toews
    Parliament Hill
    Suite 306, HC Justice Building
    Ottawa, ON
    K1A 0A6
    (No postage required in Canada)
    You can also call or email Vic Toews:
    204-326-9889
    613-992-3128
    Toews.V@parl.gc.ca
    toewsv1@mts.net
    I’ve sent out over 300 letters to correspondents since May 20 when I arrived here at FDC Sea-Tac. That’s a lot of letters written with these painful six-sided Bic pens; as you know, I’ve got a big callous on my right hand middle finger now. I try to write every single correspondent who writes me a quality letter.
    I have written many chapters of my autobiography, Jodie, and I know you haven’t seen any yet, but I have sent my editor all the corrections I identified and hopefully you will have several chapters to read by the weekend. I think my early life stories are a lot of fun, and they clue people in to the person I am today. Some, of course, are quite revealing and maybe even controversial, but I don’t like the idea of hiding anything in my past. There are even some parts of my life I’m embarrassed about, but even that will be written about. Fortunately, my history with you is a very honourable time in my life, and as we approach our 9th anniversary of our friendship – December 4th, when you first joined the Cannabis Culture online forums and we began to correspond – I will have our history written by them.
     
    I want to whole book to be completed by November when I expect to get designated to my next stop on this prison journey, which will send me much further away from you. I have written 40 pages in longhand that I haven’t sent to my editor yet, to go along with the great burst of material about my early years in 1958 to 1974 that he has now. The good thing about reaching my designated prison is that it’s the earliest opportunity for me to put in my application for transfer to the US Bureau of Prisons. I need their approval also, along with the Canadian government, in order to be moved into the Canadian corrections system.
     
    Of my autobiography, I want you to take a few chapters when you get them, and put them on Facebook and CC to get feedback, to hear what people think. None of the earlier years are about politics; it’s about my personal development and adventures, as the politics doesn’t start until about 1979, and I’ve got many chapters of material written before that time.
    I also am working on the Canadian Voters Guide to help people understand this next Canadian election and what’s at stake. The cannabis culture is the pivotal target of the Conservatives’ push to create a prison security state. History shows that by following the persecution of one group in a country, it is possible to chart in exacting detail the gradual self-destruction of that entire country. As the scapegoating and oppression get worse and the laws become corrupt, the police become cavalierly abusive and corrupt, then the judicial system and the entire structure of institutions in the country becomes fraudulent too.
     
    My persecution is emblematic of this decline in democratic values in Canada. What’s being done to me is the road map for what will be ahead for millions of Canadians. This includes the elimination of basic rights and protections now that passing a joint is deemed a "serious crime". It includes draconian 5-year penalties for minor drug offenses, massive police surveillance, and a host of police state measures for virtually any marijuana offense.
     
    The two main election issues have to be, as defined by the media over the last 3 months:
    1) prisons & the ideology that motivates the vast expansion of them in Canada, and
    2) the loss of democracy in Canada.
     
    Consider that the prisons only need expansion to accommodate the huge expected increase in marijuana "offenders". There is no other section of the Canadian population that is affected by all these laws the Conservatives have changed or want to change, and the explanation of "unreported crimes" as the reason for the multi-billion prison expansion plans clearly means the many thousands of people growing, sharing and using marijuana. Five to seven million Canadians smoking, possessing, growing, selling, passing joints, using as medicine, growing as medicine, the hundreds of seed sellers – they are all now targets of police surveillance, arrest, stringent bail conditions, longer jail terms. Police can now spy on Canadians without court permission if they suspect any marijuana infractions are taking place. Soon there will be mandatory minimum jail sentences, new factors under law to mandate longer than minimum jail time, an end to compassion clubs, possibly an end to April 20 and Cannabis Day celebrations, and ultimately, even an end to the medical exemption program.
     
    As to the rapid erosion of democracy, look at the one thousand peaceful demonstrators rounded up in Toronto in late June during the G-8 without Habeus Corpus, a call to a lawyer, or due process, for no other reason that they were standing on a Canadian street peacefully, possibly holding a sign. Rounded up, stripped down, abused, and held in instant cages erected like it was East Berlin or Moscow in the 1950s and released under intimidating conditions while no one knows where you were or what happened to you!
     
    All the power of Parliament is in the hands of the Prime Minister’s office; every day he appoints more reactionary judges, commissioners, generals, Senators, privy councillors, bureaucrats. Though the Prime Minister’s party was elected by only 16% of the Canadian population, he governs with impunity. The opposition is, inexplicably, cowed even though 70% of Canadians find Harper and the Conservatives loathsome!
     
    Police are illegally vetting juries for "unorthodox" views, to deny any accused a true jury of his peers. Senior bureaucrats are being intimidated by the PM’s office, several have resigned, but unfortunately only to make room for some compliant lackey of the Prime Minister. Senators have been appointed to toe the official government line, but Senators are supposed to be appointed for their independence because they serve terms of 10, 20 or even 30 years, and they are supposed to be guardians of Canada’s long-term interests. Elected politicians look at nothing more than the consequences of their actions in view of the next election one to three years away. The PM has even resurrected the spirit of Richard Nixon and his old "enemies" list. The following headline comes from the front page of the Ottawa Citizen of August 19: "Harper’s growing ‘black list’ a threat to democracy: critics".
     
    We have to make it impossible for candidates of all political parties in the next election to discuss issues without addressing the cannabis culture. That’s because the cannabis culture is the group most affected by both these issues of prisons and the theft of our democracy. We are these issues. We’re the ones who will be filling the prisons. We’re the ones who represent the biggest majority in Canadian history that has ever lost its democratic rights. The cannabis culture is Canada’s single largest voting block.
     
    Try to imagine any other rational issue where 53% of the voters have been ignored in Canada. Try to imagine any "crime" other than marijuana that could generate the numbers needed to fill Canada’s new multi-billion dollar prison empire – look to the United States, where the war on marijuana users has packed the prisons beyond capacity.
     
    Crime rates, excluding marijuana offenses, have been going down for decades. If we eliminated prohibition, we could close prisons and SAVE billions and dramatically reduce crime and criminal organization enrichment, but the Conservatives give not a whit of thought to that.
     
    There is simply no way to fill these prisons without marijuana prohibition. Thousands of jobs and contracts, unimaginable sums of money (in a time of record deficits in the government budget) and tons of political power have already been committed to Canada’s new incarceration industry. It is all totally dependent on marijuana prohibition.
     
    That is why my election guide will be important. That is why we must, my dear wife, set up a Canadian cannabis culture ‘Register To Vote’ website, all in the hope of igniting a return to 1960s spirit of civil rights workers that I have been so inspired by in my books ‘Parting the Waters’ and ‘Pillar of Fire’ about Martin Luther King, Jr., the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Voter registration and desegregation (legalized participation in society) was the main aim of these civil rights workers, and voter registration and integration (legalized participation in society) is the main aim of the cannabis culture.
     
    It is true the Harper government is a threat to democracy in a myriad of ways (which make many allies for our 53% of Canadians who support the legalization of marijuana), but cannabis prohibition and the increased persecution of our culture is the dominant impetus of this government. No other group claims anywhere near 53% pf the Canadian population. This number has been going up since 1992, it never goes down.
    When I am sentenced on Friday, September 10th, a majority of Canadian citizens, and a near majority of American citizens, are being sentenced with me. On September 10th, I become the first of tens of thousands, perhaps over a decade hundreds of thousands, of taxpaying Canadians the Harper government plans to send to prison under these new extraordinary measures. The only difference between myself and millions of other Canadians threatened with five years in prison is that I’m being sent to an American prison initially, while Canadians will be sent to the new Canadian prisons (as, in fact, I might too end up in one).
     
    What I was doing, which now gets 5 or more years in prison, was only worthy of a fine in the 1990s and unworthy of any criminal prosecution while the Liberals were in power in Canada from 1999 to 2005. That is changed now. Canada has become a prison nation overnight. Now the 53% won’t need to sent to the US gulag for severe punishment; it can happen right here at home in Canada in a prison especially built for the cannabis culture. The Conservatives are advocating and making the most repressive and undemocratic laws in Canada’s history outside of wartime, with myself and all my fellow people as the specific targets of their persecution.
     
    The Harper government recently and arbitrarily rewrote Canada’s marijuana laws. Handing a joint to someone can now qualify as a "serious" crime offense in Canada. I went to jail for a three month sentence for passing one joint in 2004 under the old laws; they have since been made far more severe by an order-in-council out the Prime Minister’s office on August 17, with no Parliamentary awareness or input. Now you get years for doing the same, especially if it is a second or third cannabis offense on your "permanent" record. Medical growers are not protected. Compassion clubs are not protected. They are, in fact, the targets. Harper, nor any Conservatives, have ever publicly acknowledged any value or legitimacy to medical marijuana, even though it is supported by 82% of the Canadian population, and countless medical studies and court rulings!
    I became the first Canadian to be jailed for openly working for marijuana legalization. Nobody before me was prosecuted for working to legalize marijuana. Upon my arrest, DEA Administrator Karen Tandy reiterated numerous times it was all about my legalization efforts. The word "seeds" is not mentioned even once in the DEA press release from her desk on the day of my arrest in 2005, but my politics are brought up several times!
     
    I am the first person sent to a penitentiary for selling marijuana seeds, in the US or Canada. That is because I am the recognized leader by both countries in ending marijuana prohibition. That is why I seek your support on Marc Emery Support Day on Saturday, September 18th. Standing up for me, is standing up for you. We are all on the bus to heaven or hell in Canada and the United States; there are people facing 5 or 10, or even 20 years and more for medical marijuana in Texas and Alabama, just as there is one Canadian facing 5 years or more for selling seeds – the same seeds George Washington planted every year for 30 years at his Mount Vernon plantation, the same seeds Thomas Jefferson used on his plantation at Monticello in Virginia.
     
    We’ve got to get out and vote! In California, people must vote Yes on Proposition 19 this November, to legalize marijuana for all adults. Ignore our enemies who sow dissent by telling you to support prohibition and vote no, especially the evil ones who are doing it from within the cannabis culture. You’ve got to register to vote in Canada and the United States. It’s got to be done. The paramount issue in both countries for every candidate at every level is "what are you going to do about marijuana prohibition?" My dear Jodie, I am truly looking forward to being with you again, so we can continue to push for a change in the laws and work on your political career aspirations. People will follow your example just as they follow mine, and we will be able to reach victory together.
     
    Sending love, from your hard-working prince,
    Marc Emery

    26
    Aug

    Marc Emery US Prison Blog #11: Letter to Jodie

    submitted by on August 26, 2010
    Tags: , , ,
    Dearest Jodie: It was a tremendous visit with you on Sunday morning. I am so proud of you for doing such a great job speaking at Hempfest. I know Jeremiah is uploading the videos of your speeches to Youtube (found here), then shared on the Cannabisculture.com and FREEMARC.ca websites. I can’t wait to hear the feedback!

    I had a challenging week as you know. The no-flesh diet they give me is so terribly poor, of the 14 meals I get here weekly, 5 of them substitute the meat of the others with a packet of peabnut butter, that’s it. And as you know, I don’t eat peanut butter. So I go hungry 5 meals out of 14. Then on two of the other remaining nine meals, they give me a 5-spoonful carton of cottage cheese. The other seven have soy or cheese substitutes, almost always very poorly prepared and simply reheated. It’s so discouraging. I eat all the apples, oranges, bananas I can get, sometimes the other inmates give me theirs but I have to eat them right away because we are not allowed to have food from the "kitchen" in our rooms, which causes a massive amount of waste as so much fruit & food is just thrown out because if you don’t eat it in 15 minutes at sit-down, into the garbage it has to go. The rules are absurd and cause so much waste and, in my case, hunger and malnutrition.

     

    This past week we were locked down for 36 hours because one of the inmates’ stash of alcohol hooch was discovered. I’ve been breathalyzed four times since I’ve been here; the first time in my life I’ve had a breathalyzer test of any kind. That was Wednesday and Thursday morning, so I couldn’t shower, exercise or use email or the phone during the constant lock-down.

    On Friday, when I expected you to be here at 2:00 pm for our long-anticipated visit that day, I did not get the call to visitation and as the hours went by I got extremely anxious about you being in an accident, or hurt, or worse, or held-up at the border. All sorts of terrifying things went through my head because you are never late or miss a visit. Yet all day the phones and internet were disabled because inmates were being moved that day and as a security measure (so they say) all phone & emails go down when a bus or planeload of prisoners is on the move; that’s BOP (Bureau of Prisons) policy. So I had no idea what happened to you, or way to contact you. I was so torn up by anxiety that I had to go and throw up and then cry around 5:30 pm, 3.5 hours after you were due here. By 6:00 pm I was pacing the track upstairs looking pale and distraught when the C.O. (Corrections Officer) called me to his office and said he saw you at 2 pm, first in line, at the front entrance when he came to work on his shift. He said that all visitation was canceled, but the inmates weren’t being told! I was the first to know! Then I cried in relief you were alright but stunned they would let me and others here go all afternoon terrified something had happened to our loved ones without informing us visitation was canceled. It seems incredibly heartless and so unnecessary. One fellow inmate had his wife drive three hours from Blaine, but she was turned away and had to drive three hours home. Others came from Portland, 5 hours away, and were rejected. And of course we get no explanation. Finally phones came on at 7 pm and I was able to call you to breasth a sign of relief. Then email came on and got your note about how crushed you were to have our visits canceled without explanation.

    Of course, it was probably because the scheduled airlift of a huge number of inmates on Con-Air broke down and the inmates all had be returned for the weekend to Sea-Tac. I have never seen this place as crowded as it was this past weekend, with some serious bruisers and hardened types among the temporary residents. I have never been so anxious here as in those 4 hours when I was wondering what could have happened to you.

    As you know, I am looking forward to getting my sentencing out of the way on Friday, September 10th in downtown Seattle at the federal court. If all goes as expected, I will be sentenced to the 5 years I agreed to in my plea deal (I have almost 6 months in already in accumulated time served in Canadian & US jails on the sentence) and that day I hope to submit my Treaty Transfer application to the Canadian government via the Canadian Consulate here in Seattle. Then, following that application, I am hoping my loyal supporters will show up on SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 at hundreds of busy intersections, football or baseball stadiums, or in front of Member of Congress or Member of Parliament local offices, at Canadian and US Embassies and Consulates throughout North America and the world, or just at busy intersections in your town, urging my imminent transfer back to the Canadian correctional system to serve out my sentence.

    I am hoping individuals, pairs or groups of four will go to busy places anytime from noon to 5 pm with signs saying "Return Prince of Pot Marc Emery to Canada from US Prison" or "Google Marc Emery – Political Prisoner – Bring Him Home" or "FreeMARC.ca – Return Marc Emery to Canada" or "Vic Toews: Approve Prison Transfer for Marc Emery" and that sort of thing. Big king-size sheets with these messages at bridge overpasses are great too, so traffic on the highway below can see it. Wherever there will be lots of eyeballs to view the signs is a good place. I’d prefer groups of two or four spread out over several busy places, rather than one group of 10 or 20 in one mass. Encourage people to sign up at WhyProhibition.ca and use my Facebook fan page, Facebook.com/PrinceOfPot, to publicize where they will be. Have people take photographs of their action on what I am calling the Marc Emery Support Day Mobilization (though my supporters are calling it the "Free Marc Emery" worldwide rally).

    I am keeping busy with letter writing, I have written 25 letters in the most recent 3 days, and am writing my 2010 Canadian Voters’ Guide and great lengths of my autobiography for Dana Larsen, who is putting it together for me. I am very prolific and busy and it’s because of you, my dear wife, and your endless love for me, and the support you generate for me, that inspires me to keep producing under this incredible adversity.

    I Love You,
    Great job at Hempfest sweetheart!
    Marc

    Part 2:

    Part 3:

    17
    Aug

    Marc Emery: All About Prison and What Comes Next

    submitted by on August 17, 2010
    Tags: , ,
    By Marc Emery, forward by Jodie Emery, Originally Published Cannabis Culture
     
    Marc decided to write the complete story of his status as a political prisoner in the US federal prison system: what he does, what it’s like, his future prospects at Sea-Tac Federal Detention Center in Seattle and wherever he gets sent after sentencing, and the process of returning to Canada.

    This letter was written to be copied and sent to everyone who sends him mail so he doesn’t have to write it out repeatedly, but he still writes personal messages along with every letter he sends out.

    As of August 20th 2010, I will have been here 92 days. With the 70 days I spent in Canada awaiting extradition, that’s 162 days total time credited to my sentence. In the US prison system an inmate receives 15% off their sentence each year (54 days) in their sentence as a "good conduct time" credit. Of course, the rules can be severe in a US prison, and it takes effort not to be punished with loss of good time or solitary confinement. So, with 162 days in by August 20th, plus 270 days "good time" over 5 years, if I spent every single day of my 5-year sentence in the US system, my release date is mid-June 2014, or 3 years and 9.5 months away.


     

    As a Canadian citizen (a "criminal alien") in the US system, I cannot qualify for designation to a minimum-security "camp" that my offense would normally fit under. I am only permitted in the next level up of security, a "Low". I also cannot get the 12-month sentence reduction American citizens in the system receive for the Residential Drug & Alcohol Rehabilitation Program (R-DAP), nor do I qualify for the early release to a halfway house six months prior to the end of sentence. However, once transferred to the Canadian Federal Corrections system, I qualify for accelerated parole.

    My sentencing is actually September 10th in the Seattle Federal Court of Judge Martinez. The judge, the district attorney and myself, represented by the very able lawyer Richard Troberman, have agreed on a 5-year sentence in a procedure called an 11(c)1(c). It’s pretty well guaranteed, but nothing in a courtroom is really guaranteed so this is as close as it comes. There will be rallies in many cities on the day after my sentencing, September 18th, so stay tuned to www.FreeMarc.ca and www.CannabisCulture.com for details and updates.

    Should everything go as expected in court on the 10th, I will be sentenced that day to a 5-year term. Depending on a Pre-Sentence Report compiled by the court, I should get designated to a "Low" Security Federal Correctional Institution (FCI or CI). This FCI could be anywhere in the United States, and I will be sent there some time in October, November, January or even February. (No prisoners are moved in December). It will be likely a roundabout journey involving a few stops on the way where I will be housed in an FDC like Sea-Tac until I reach my destination jail; it could take several weeks of buses and FDC’s just to get to where I am headed.

    I would like to be designated to Terminal Island FCI in California, but Lompac FCI "Low" or Taft CI are more likely. Taft is a prison in the California desert that specializes in "Criminal aliens" – that is, non-US citizens in the system like me. There are 12 FCI "Lows" in the USA that specialize in "criminal aliens", two in California (California City and Taft), 4 in Texas, one each in New Mexico, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio. I can ask the judge to recommend a preferred place to be, relative to my wife Jodie’s ability to visit me, but the Bureau of Prisons reserves the right to send me to any prison in their system. You can find out about the Bureau of Prisons at their website www.bop.gov.

    Immediately after my sentencing on September 10th, I will make an application to the Canadian Minister of Public Safety to serve my sentence in the Canadian Correctional system. Canada and the US have a treaty whereby each country promises to repatriate their nationals that are convicted in the others’ criminal justice system. The process involves me applying to Canada first, and then, when I reach my designated prison in the US, making my US application. The decision in Canada is with the Minister of Public Safety, currently Mr. Vic Toews, and he will have my application on his desk by late September.

    If you are Canadian, I need your help! Please write to:

    The Honourable Vic Toews
    Parliament Hill, Suite 306, Justice Building
    House of Commons
    Ottawa, Ontario
    K1A 0A6

    Urge him to repatriate Marc Emery. Impress on him that I am a good Canadian who has made many valuable contributions to Canadian life, that I love my country, and will not be selling seeds at any time in the future. Add your own personal reasons relating to my worthiness in being brought into the Canadian corrections system. Be polite and not too long. Put your complete name and address on the letter. This letter should be sent to him as soon as possible in August, September or October. Ask your Member of Parliament to send a letter to Mr. Toews urging the Hon. Minister Toews to repatriate me.

    Once I am back in the Canadian system, I will qualify for full parole by Christmas 2011, and it is possible I could celebrate Christmas with my beloved wife if you and all those you know take the time and effort to write Mr. Toews a good letter. Your support here is SO VALUABLE and IMPORTANT to my future! It’s actually the law that Canada has to repatriate its citizens from US jails under this treaty, and the only grounds for refusal are 1) being a member of organized crime, 2) being a threat to the public safety, and 3) likely to commit the offense again. One of the important points about me is that in 5 years of bail (August 2005 to May 2010), I never violated my commitment to not sell seeds in that time, and can be counted on to abide by my commitments in my parole and post-parole period IF I am repatriated to Canada.

    Once I am designated to a US FCI, I can, and will, make application to the US Bureau of Prisons for transfer to Canada. The US, when they approve such applications, does so usually within 3-5 months of application. Canada takes back prisoners 3 times yearly, publishing a list issued by The Minister of Public Safety. The US Bureau of Prisons, a division of the US Justice Department, makes its decision in conjunction with the prosecuting District Attorney, and any victims (none in my case).

    My American supporters are urged to send a letter to the Bureau of Prisons at the Justice Department in Washington, DC, urging my transfer to the Canadian Corrections system as soon as the possible.

    Attn: Canadian Inmate Treaty Transfer section
    Federal Bureau of Prisons
    320 First St., NW
    Washington, DC 20534

    If all goes well and I am accepted by both countries for transfer, I could find myself in the Canadian system by late summer of 2011, and on full parole (under current Canadian law, which is unfortunately under threat of being changed by the Conservative government of Canada) by November or December 2011, or January 2012.

    The more support I receive in letters to the Canadian and American officials, the better chance I have of repatriation, so please write a letter. It doesn’t have to be long or complex, it just needs to demonstrate that citizens want me sent home.

    Not much changes here in my life, so my routine has to keep me busy and motivated!

    I get up at 5:45 am each morning and go down to the computer room. That’s because the inmate email service, which costs $3.50 an hour, comes alive at 6:00 am. I am usually the first waiting! Jodie sends me an overnight email telling me how much she loves me and all the things she did in the previous day and what her plans are for this day. It’s usually a wonderful comprehensive and information packed email of politics, business, personal stories, support, and addressing my many questions and requests for money, books, information, news.

    I have 30 email contacts, the maximum allowed, and I rely on them to write me an email as often as they can. Sometimes they write, "You haven’t written me recently" as an excuse for why THEY haven’t written, but in jail not much changes, each day is virtually the same, so I have, in effect, over several days, nothing new to write about EXCEPT reacting to their lives as they share them with me. In the real world, decisions are made, things happen, travel, restaurants, work, love, sex, disappointment, joy, sunny days, stormy days, money matters, family, all these things HAPPEN to people on the outside. There is little going on here but my daily routine, which I’ll shortly describe to you. I’m not going to travel, there will be no change in my diet, there will be no sex, I’m not going to see the sun or the rain, makes friends of my own choosing, etc. My life has one purpose here, to be as productive as possible in extremely restrictive circumstances so as not to fall into despair from loneliness and boredom. The only distraction I have is you, my dear correspondent. The quality of your email or letter to me has a great bearing on how my day is. The only reaction I can have is from photos, articles, letters, news, and information from the outside world. That’s my ONLY stimulation here, reacting to the input of friends and correspondents.

    Well, not quite the only stimulation. I do about 3 to 4 hours of email everyday, largely to Jodie and my close friends and associates. I write editorials, do interviews (through letters and emails), and work on projects like my 2010 Canadian Voters Guide to Defeat the Conservatives and a book of my cannabis activist career, tentatively called ‘Overgrowing The World, My Cannabis Revolution’. I receive three newspapers daily when the mail arrives at around 3:30 pm: USA Today, Seattle Times and the wonderful New York Times. I have 9 magazine subscriptions: Reason, The Atlantic, Mother Jones, National Geographic, the Economist, Rolling Stone, MacLean’s, Harper’s, and Mojo. My favorite is MacLean’s because it is efficient in keeping me informed (albeit from the conservative perspective most times) about Canadian news and politics. The Economist is next most useful. Rolling Stone and The Atlantic are very readable. I really haven’t had enough time to read National Geographic, but it is very popular amongst the inmates who I lend the magazines to. I have a nice collection of books and graphic novels. In jail I have read Alan Moore’s WATCHMEN twice, PROMETHEA (best graphic novel ever done, all six volumes), Tom Gordon (Vol. 1 & 2), with Top 10 and SWAMP THING still to go. Still to read are Nelson Mandela’s Autobiography, the Philosophy of Gandhi, and The Noam Chomsky Reader. I finished the magnificent book ‘Parting the Waters’, a remarkably well-researched book on Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement. This is just the first volume of a three-volume set, each volume is 1,000 pages thick! It’s by Taylor Branch and is truly a wonderful, inspiring history that I read every night from 11 pm to 2 am by my battery-operated booklight. I received volume 2, ‘Pillar of Fire’, and will get volume 3 after I finish volume 2. I finished and greatly enjoyed Christopher Hitchens’ erudite and extremely literate memoirs ‘Hitch-22’. I also have his ‘god Is Not Great’ book to read. I finished the expose of the Christian fundamentalism that permeates the Conservative party of Canada and the Canadian government in ‘The Armageddon Factor’ by Marci McDonald.

    I only get 300 minutes per month of phone use, so that limits me to call just Jodie 10 minutes a day over 30 days, but I use 15 minutes a day on days when Jodie doesn’t visit me, so that’s 22 days a month I call her. Jodie visits me twice each weekend while I am at SeaTac FDC, which is a very time consuming and expensive effort on her behalf. If you want to contribute any money so I can see my beloved wife, give Jodie a donation to help her afford to visit me, it costs about $600 every weekend for her to see me twice, and it’s a struggle to find that money! (Email JodieEmery@gmail.com if you want to help!)

    Only relatives or spouses can visit here at FDC Sea-Tac, so Jodie is my only permissible visitor. She visits me on the Fridays to Monday on even numbered days so, for example, she is visiting on Friday August 20th in the afternoon, and Sunday August 22nd in the early morning. She is speaking at the Seattle Hempfest that particular weekend, meeting activists and enthusiasts of the cannabis culture, and seeing me. This is the most exciting part of my life for sure! It’s a 2-hour contact visit so when we first meet I grab Jodie around the waist and swing her around and kiss her for a passionate 30 seconds. It’s electric! It’s like getting married each time! It’s so thrilling! Then after our intense embrace and kiss, we sit opposite each other and hold hands the entire time (which I love) and our faces are about 6 inches away and we talk, talk, talk and that 2 hours goes by lovingly but quick. But it sure is heaven for me. Jodie always wears a beautiful dress and I think she looks so magnificent. When she leaves I can kiss her for 30 seconds, and oh I do! It’s a little bittersweet when she leaves but I know I will see her in two days or no longer than a week later. She stays just down the road at a nearby hotel until she takes the airplane back to Vancouver after the second visit of the weekend. I cherish every visit! When I am moved to an FCI elsewhere in America, it will cost much more money and take up even more travel time so Jodie will only be able to visit me every second week, but it will be two or three days in a row on the weekends she does visit.

    The computer in the email room has no cut & paste, or any function other than straight typing of a Corrlinks email. I can’t forward emails. I can’t access the internet. But it’s still a wonderful thing. I suspect the $3.50 an hour the BOP charges me for it barely covers the cost of their staff screening my emails. All letters in and out, all emails and all phone calls (except to my lawyer) are screened by BOP staff. They haven’t censored anything, but I was put in solitary confinement for 21 days on June 4 for allegedly breaking a rule on the phone, which I was not aware of (making a podcast) and did not even find in the rulebook here, nor was 21 days in the grueling deprivation of solitary a justified punishment, in my opinion. Nonetheless, rules here can have severe consequences if broken. I did not lose any of my good time though, and since being released from SHU (Special Housing Unit) solitary confinement on June 25, I have not had even a write up, so I do try to obey all rules when I am aware of them.

    Phone calls to Jodie cost 35 cents a minute. The postage stamps they sell me for letters are the ‘Liberty Bell’ universal 44-cent stamp (two for Canada) and I can only buy 20 a week. It is unsurpassable irony that a political prisoner as I am has to purchase ‘Liberty Bell’ postage stamps to send my letters from jail. Oh these United States of America! It’s like the license plates of New Hampshire that say ‘Live Free or Die’ on them, while they are made by prisoners at the state jail in Concord, New Hampshire!

    I do email from 6 am to 6:40 am, I still manage to get my two breakfast milks and down them just before morning lockdown, from 6:40 am to 8:00 am when we are locked in our cells. I, like virtually every other inmate, go back to sleep. Lately I’ve been sleeping to 10 am, waking up too late for the showers, which are available 3 times daily (8-10 am, 1:30-3:30 pm, 7:30-9:30 pm). I go check email from 10 am to 10:45, at which time we have lunch. Today lunch was canned vegetables, beans and two cheese sandwiches plus a small salad of onion, tomato and lettuce. After lunch I read the newspapers I received from the day before, and any magazines I’ve received that I haven’t finished. Then we get locked down from 12:15 to 1:15 pm, and I start writing my replies to mail. Any correspondents will get this letter plus a handwritten reply to their specific questions and comments. This permits me to not have to write the same basic information I have done in the previous 200 letters I have written from Sea-Tac FDC so far since I arrived here on May 20.

    I usually point out that I consider myself a political prisoner, because the chief of DEA specifically stated this in her letter to the media and public on the day of my arrest in July 29, 2005, when DEA and RCMP had me arrested just prior to a speech I was giving at the Maritimers United for Medical Marijuana festival in Laurencetown, Nova Scotia. The head of DEA (US Drug Enforcement Administration) proudly proclaimed:

    The DEA statement admits it's all about politics“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 U.S. and Canada, but also to 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.” (See the original document here)

    Her entire statement talks about my politics, money to legalization groups, my "propagandist" magazine. At no point are any victims identified, nor have there ever been any victims or identification of victims. No other person brought before a US court has been tried exclusively for seeds.

    No other Canadian seed seller (and there have been over 150 in Canada over the last 10 years) has been sought for extradition. Only one Canadian seed seller has even gone to jail in Canada, for one month, and that was for a huge quantity, three pounds of seeds, along with corresponding sales ads in High Times Magazine and marijuana samples of each strain seized – that was Daniel Anthony Kostantin in March 2008, as reported in the Vancouver Sun. Even the owner of Heaven’s Stairway, accused in Montreal of exporting seeds to the US, and convicted in March 2010 received 2 years house arrest, no prison time at all! So this 5 year sentence I have received in the US, aided and abetted by my extradition by the Canadian Justice Minister, is punishment solely based on my massive $4,000,000 in contributions to the cannabis liberation movement from 1995 to 2005, and my endless speeches in documentaries, television specials, Canada-wide tours (2003 – Summer of Legalization Tour, 2004 – Canadian University Tour) and articles, editorials and my brazen seed catalog in my "propagandist" magazine Cannabis Culture. I was put on the radar as far back as the front page article on me Dec. 5, 1995 in the Wall Street Journal, "Pot Seed Merchant, winked at By Police, Prospers in Canada". Then when CNN did a special on me in September 1997, on "Impact, with Bernard Shaw" in a long, in-depth segment titled "Canada Cannabis", it came to the attention of US and Canadian officials, and I was raided shortly afterward (but still remained in business). Articles lauding my work (I have only ever received negative coverage in the National Enquirer of December 1996) have appeared in Rolling Stone Magazine (April 1998), New York Times (September 2005), Washington Post (summer 2006), CBS 60 Minutes (2006), The Economist (August 2000), Time Magazine (2000), MTV (2003), National Geographic (2009 – Explorer, "Inside Marijuana"), Australian Broadcast Corporation’s 60 Minutes (2007), in documentaries "Escape to Canada", "The Union" "Prince of Pot" "Principle of Pot" and numerous others available on Youtube and found by Google. I have been interviewed by the Times of India, and media in Norway, Finland, Slovenia, Czech Republik, the Netherlands, Mexico and numerous other countries.

    In the afternoon I write letters, check my email mid-day and then receive my mail – newspapers, magazines, books and letters – around 3 pm. We are locked down from 3:40 pm to 4:30 pm. It’s dinner time when we get out at 4:30 to 4:45 pm. In lockdown, I usually continue to write letters, leaving newspapers, magazines to read in the evening lockdown from 9:40 (lockdown) to about 11 pm, when lights go out and then I read my current book with booklight from 11 am to 2 am. I call Jodie once a day (when not a visitation day) between 7:30 pm and 9:15 pm, for 15 minutes. Use of phones and email stop at 9:40 pm lockdown.

    My cell is shared with another ‘cellie’, the name we use for the other inmate who shares the 12′ x 7′ cell that has a washbasin and toilet, two lockers, a double bunk, and a desk & chair. It’s all made of steel, though we have two plastic chairs in the cell for fellow inmate visitors or just a more comfortable seat instead of the bunk bed. There are 63 cells, the maximum capacity in this unit, DB, is 125 men, but the usual is 85-105 men. The unit is shaped like a triangle, measuring 80′ x 70′ x 60′, with two stories. The upper story is used like an exercise track by most inmates, 21 laps equals one mile. The lower level has 4 raised televisions, one for Spanish language programming for the 45 or so Mexicans/Hispanic Americans, the other 3 are news, entertainment and various shows in English or with English subtitles. You hear the television over portable Sony radios you can buy from commissary for $45, and you buy Koss headphones for $34 to listen to either the radio or TV, so it’s not audible for anyone to hear on the range without headphones. Also on the range are 20 tables with 4 seats attached to each, the C.O.’s quarters (the C.O. is the on-duty Correctional Officer/guard) is a 9′ x 9′ structure where he or she works and monitors the range.

    We don’t ever get to go outside, there is no ‘yard’ here at an FDC (pre-trial detention center) – ‘yards’ are only at the designated jail or prison you get sent to after sentencing. There is a gymnasium for playing basketball or volleyball, it’s a concrete floor and in my opinion leads to injury, but the air in the gym is through a grating to the outside, so it’s fresh air. There are no weights here, but the inmates do a lot of improvised exercises throughout the range and in the gym. I sure do miss going outside and feeling the warming, satisfying rays of the sun.

    I am the only inmate in the unit on a no-flesh diet, a poor mans ‘vegetarian’ diet that usually lacks any fresh vegetables, except recently, for the first time in 75 days, I had a fresh vegetable feast for my dinner, 5 green pepper slices, 5 tomato wedges, 4 broccoli pieces, 2 cauliflower pieces, 3 cherry tomatoes, medium cheddar cheese (real thing!) and 3 hard boiled eggs. It was spectacular. It has never been that good. I felt really healthy that day, but such a fresh vegetable tray like that is extremely rare! Normally, the meals are considerably underwhelming in taste and nutrition, the diet is repetitious and discouraging. But I eat any apples, bananas, and oranges and grapefruits we get, that’s for sure. In fact, I eat whatever I get!

    Once a week we put all our clothes worn in the previous week in laundry bags with our name on it and put them in a laundry bin and later that day they come back washed. We have to iron the t-shirts, trousers, and smocks after we get our laundry back, otherwise they look very wrinkled. Our clothing issuance is 7 pair of socks, 7 pair of underwear, 3 trousers, 3 smocks, 6 t-shirts. We also have our bed linen washed each week, but they get returned pressed.

    Marc and Jodie at SeaTac FDCI have three photo albums full of photos, one album is sexy and beautiful pictures of Jodie, which I look at every day, another is an album of Jodie and sometimes Jodie & I, doing political activity, and a third album are photos from supporters wearing their FREE MARC shirts or holding up FREE MARC signs throughout the world. I have more photos of Jodie and supporters so I am getting two more photo albums next week from commissary.

    One of the most satisfying things to get in the mail are photos of my correspondents doing FREE MARC activism in their hometown. Most every letter I get says “I support you”, but to me, a photo is proof that their support is real and has become action. Action is the only real support there is. Letter writing, holding a FREE MARC sign at a major intersection, concert, rally or sports event, wearing a FREE MARC t-shirt, composing a FREE MARC song – this is genuine support, and any picture or photo is very satisfying proof.

    The Commissary is the inmate store. We put in orders on Monday, and on Tuesday we get the items back. We can spend $320 a month at the commissary, and I usually reach my maximum. Monthly costs are $320 for commissary, $350 for email, $105 for phone calls, $100 for newspaper subscriptions, total $875, which is a burden on Jodie unless I get donations from supporters, which fortunately I do. The Government of Canada garnisheed most of my money, and of any money I could earn, 80% is seized by the Government to pay back taxes, interest and penalties. Currently I have no employment source of income as a result of my incarceration, so I do rely greatly on the kindness of strangers, to quote the play ‘Streetcar Named Desire’.

    From the commissary I get razor blades, shave cream, soap, floss picks, tuna packs, tortillas, pens, stationery, postage stamps, oatmeal, the radio/headphones, calcium tablets, vitamin E, aspirin, shampoo, photo albums, etc. I spend about $70 a week on those kinds of items. Some supporters want to donate to my prison commissary to make my time here more comfortable, so if you’d like to contribute, you can deposit funds directly into my account by using Western Union (the "Quick Collect Form") and filling in the following information:

    Recipient: Marc Scott Emery #40252086 US BOP (SeaTac FDC, Seattle Washington)
    City code: FBOP
    State: DC

    You can also send money to Jodie for her to deposit into my account if you’re not able to get to Western Union, or you can even donate to her for travel fees, as I love nothing more than seeing her and it’s really helpful to have assistance with the cost of flying and staying in hotels to visit me. Email JodieEmery@gmail.com or send mail to Jodie Emery, 307 West Hastings Street, Vancouver BC, V6B 1H6, Canada.

    If an inmate has a medical issue, it takes time to get attention here so you have to stay in good health on your own. When I had an abscessed toe (from picking with my fingers and not using nail clippers that I have from commissary; lesson learned), I put in a cop-out (that’s what requests to staff are called) and requested oil of oregano to put in the abscessed area, which I know from my doctor in Vancouver and personal experience is very effective. You soak the toe in really hot water for 30 minutes 4 times a day for two days and by the second days it softens the area up, then you break open the area easily and drain the pus, put it back in the hot salted water, and then put oil of oregano in the open wound. Jodie was worried so she told me to just start soaking my foot in hot salted water even without the oil of oregano, so a day after I put the cop-out in I started soaking it in hot water, broke the area open the next day, drained the pus, immersed it in really hot salted water, kept it clean and dry and it was completely healed within 24 hours. Nine days after putting in my request, I was finally called to the doctor’s office to hear they only have antibiotics for that kind of thing and don’t have oil of oregano – which, fortunately, I was not in need of any longer. Medical attention improves somewhat once you are sent to the designated jail after sentencing, so I hear.

    One final request! Nothing makes me feel better than knowing you might be helping me in my cause! Campaigning against Bill S-10 (mandatory minimum prison time for cannabis) in Canada, working to pass Proposition 19 in California, getting out to vote in both countries, supporting ballot initiatives for medical marijuana, all these things delight me when you write me about your ACTION! When you wear your FREE MARC shirts (available at www.cannabisculture.com/store), write the Minister of Public Safety or the Bureau of Prisons at the US Justice Dept, or hold a sign up or a rally on my behalf, then that is the best news I will receive all day.

    Please visit the website FreeMarc.ca or www.CannabisCulture.com to see the latest news and postings about my situation.

    To write to me by mail send your letters, photos and clippings to:

    Marc Scott Emery, #40252086, Unit DB
    Sea-Tac FDC
    Box 13900
    Seattle, WA
    98198-1090
    USA

    I will answer your specific questions and comments by hand along with this printed letter, so thank you for writing me and I look forward to hearing about what you’ve done for freedom lately, and the cause of cannabis liberation!

    Marc Scott Emery

    17
    Aug

    Free Marc Emery World-Wide Rallies: September 18

    submitted by on
    Tags: , ,
    Help Free Marc Emery! September 18, in your home town!
     
    Marc will be sentenced in mid September, which means that Vic Toews will begin considering Marc’s repatriation to Canada shortly thereafter. We must remind Vic Toews and the Conservative Government that Canadians and indeed the world, want Marc Emery brought back to Canada and set free.
     
    You can help! Login to WhyProhibition.ca and create an event for your Rally, then check out the Shout-Out function (whyprohibition.ca/content/shout-out) which will allow you to invite everyone within 40km of you in the WhyProhibition.ca database to your event! With your event hosted on WhyProhibition.ca, we can let people nearby know about it, making it easier for you to get higher turnout! If you haven’t already, sign up for WhyProhibition.ca today!
     
    Help Free Marc Emery, September 18, in your home town!
     

    View the Map of FREE MARC Rallies Happening Around the World

     

    Add Your FREE MARC Rally to the Map – Be Sure to Set the Date for September 18!

     

    Shout Out to WhyProhibition.ca Members within 40 km of Your Rally!

     

    How to Maximize your Impact

     

    Download a Free Marc September 18 Poster

     

    13
    Aug

    Missing Marc but staying active and getting things done!

    submitted by on August 13, 2010
    Tags: , ,
    Today I got photos from Marc in prison! They were taken during our visit on July 4th, when inmates can buy photographs of themselves with family. We had to choose one of four painted walls as the backdrop, so we picked the Seattle skyline at night.

    I was so pleased to get these photos in the mail, and share them on Facebook so people can see how Marc looks and what his inmate clothes are like. This is the first glimpse of Marc in US federal prison for everyone but me and his lawyers. He has lost weight, but he eats everything he can.

    I was also pleased to see an LTE (letter to the editor) by me printed today in the Calgary Sun! It was the first submission I’ve sent in a long time, and it was published, as my letters often are, so I’m reminded to keep writing! It was in response to a great column – one of many recent ones in Canada – about how the Canadian government’s prison plans doesn’t match the crime statistics.

    Here is my letter:

    Re: Call for prisons, Aug. 9: Dave Breakenridge writes "for someone to go to jail, people need to report the crime, a suspect has to be arrested, tried and convicted." Not quite, at least not with the modified definition of "serious crime" announced by the Conservative government.

    Under the changes, any amount of cannabis grown or sold is now a "serious crime", which allows the police to use their "organized crime" tool box, without court permission, and asset forfeiture without needing a conviction. Cops won’t need more people reporting crimes. They will simply spy on anyone they believe to be growing or selling any amount of pot, arrest them, seize their property, then deny them bail — all without due process normally applied to regular citizens.

    So don’t be mystified about who will fill those new prison cells; it’ll be your friends and family who use even a little bit of cannabis on weekends, because they are now guilty of a "serious crime."

    JODIE EMERY
    VANCOUVER

    (Drug policy is a mess. – Calgary Sun editorial comment)

    So that was good to see! Marc was also very pleased with it. I used to read the newspapers (Vancouver Sun, The Province, National Post, and Globe & Mail) every morning while Marc slept in, and I would often write a letter to at least one paper every other day. It’s been a while, so it’s nice to know that my first LTE in a few months was printed!

    Additionally, on August 9th the Vancouver Sun had an article on "smart meter" technology and how it will help police detect grow-ops. I was contacted by the journalist to give my perspective on it, and I send my response – and I was quoted word-for-word:

    Advocates of legalizing marijuana, meanwhile, think the grow operations most likely to be detected by the new meter technology are family enterprises.

    "Prohibition breeds creativity for getting around obstacles and law enforcement, so there will be ways for large-scale growers to go undetected," Jodie Emery said in an e-mail.

    Emery’s husband is Marc Emery, an outspoken advocate of pot legalization now serving five years in a U.S. penitentiary for a mail order business that shipped marijuana seeds from Canada to the United States.

    "They can just get generators, or buy entire gas stations (as we’ve seen done in the past), or use new LED lighting technology, or grow smaller crops in more locations, which actually spreads the problem out and makes it harder to detect," Jodie Emery said.

    "The most dangerous aspect of the smart meter program is that it means small-scale, mom-and-pop indoor gardens will be more likely to be shut down, whereas organized crime can afford the techniques and technology to avoid detection (in the ways I outlined above). So it puts more of the cannabis market into the hands of gangs, and out of small-scale personal gardeners.

    "No matter what BC Hydro does with smart meters, grow ops will never go away unless cannabis prohibition ends."

    My comments there were the final words in the article, so I feel good about getting the truth out! My fight is not only to bring my husband home, but also to end prohibition so every drug war prisoner can go home to their loved ones.

    12
    Aug

    Marc Emery: U.S. federal prison blog #10—Letter to Jodie

    submitted by on August 12, 2010
    Tags: ,
    By Marc Emery, Georgia Straight

    (Marc Emery’s U.S. federal prison blog #10 originally ran here on the Cannabis Culture Web site on August 11, 2010.)

    Today I was told I would get less time on the computer to send and read emails because there was griping by some of the inmates about my use. Admittedly, it is about 3 hours a day, but I line up like everyone else and there are others that use it even more frequently and for longer times than I. It seems I have aroused some to complain. So my use will be in the early morning, in the afternoon around 4:30 pm, and at night, for less time in total.

    I will have a hard time finding the time to type & email out the chapters of the proposed book I’m writing, so I may have to just send you my notes in long hand, which is how I do my first draft anyway. I’ll just edit it and rewrite the second draft more neatly and forward it along to you by mail rather than using up valuable computer time. The chapters are much longer than my editor specified, but there’s so much to tell that I thought I’d put it down and leave it for you and him to edit. It’s better to have too much information as opposed to too little.

    The first chapter deals with my first album purchase when I was 14 (up to then I bought 45 rpm single songs), which was Cheech & Chong’s BIG BAMBU album. I memorized that album, finding their voices mocking, exaggerated and subversive. I really thought marijuana smoking was a comedic form of social rebellion. I was a teenager who found my obsession with Marvel Comic books as gratifying a mind changer as I could imagine, along with my comic book business called "Marc’s Comic Room" (named so because I sold the comics originally from my bedroom in my parents house from 1971 to 1975, when I was aged 12 to 16) and my budding love of science-fiction, I had no concept of the need for "drugs" or marijuana.

    Then I jump to 1979 whereupon I discover Ayn Rand and the tremendous life-changing effect on my life, and how that happened. Then to December 21, 1980 when I meet Sandra, and I discover the joy of a cannabis high while falling in love with her that night. Then we jump to 1991 when I sponsor a spoken word performer (and former front man for the punk band Dead Kennedys) to perform his new CD "I Blow Minds For A living" at Centennial Hall in London, Ontario.

    I had found out about Jello Biafra while doing my radio show on CHRW called "Radio Free Speech: Revolution Through Rock & Rap", and got together $5,000 to pay him his fee (of $3,000) and to rent the Hall for a night ($2,000 with sound equipment). We sold 420 tickets at $10 each, so I only lost about $1,000. In that performance of his then-current CD, there was a 15-minute segment called "Grow More Pot" about this book, by a guy named Jack Herer, called the Emperor Wears No Clothes. Biafra spoke about this conspiracy to suppress the history of the hemp plant and its incredible history in the world, and particularly Canada and the USA; that George Washington was America’s biggest cannabis farmer ever; that the Declaration of Independence was written on cannabis hemp paper, and it was mandatory to be grown in the early colonies, and in World War 2, the US Department of Agriculture urged farmers to GROW HEMP FOR VICTORY.

    After his performance, I found out the book was banned in Canada, and all magazines and books about marijuana and drugs were, in fact, banned and had been banned for 4 years, since 1987. So I vowed to break the ban by selling these books and magazines over the next 10 months. I don’t get charged (unlike when I opened my store illegally on Sundays), even though I took out ads announcing my plans and sold copies in front of the police station, but I do end up bringing Jack Herer, Steve Hager, Ed Rosenthal & Paul Mavrides to London to autograph and speak about their work.

    I got frustrated with everything after so many campaigns and so little change, so in July 1992 I moved to Asia with my partner Deb, and her two kids Jordon & Jeremy. While in Asia I saw in a government-banned newspaper an article about the Conservative leadership convention between Jean Charest & Kim Campbell. It came up that they both had smoked pot. This is the only article about Canada I saw in Asia in two years, and it’s all about how pot is very common in this place called the "lower mainland of British Columbia". Piquing my interest, I joked, "If we ever go broke here, we’ll have to go to BC and set up some kind of hemp revolution business." I laughed at the thought of going broke, as if it would never happen, but the idea keeps evolving in my head anyway.

    8 months later, I really was nearly broke after foolishly spending $30,000 building a dream chalet on the side of this magnificent lake, Lake Maninjau, in West Sumatra, Indonesia. I got completely defrauded of my money, the house was built – a spectacular place, but I never spent a day inside it after completion, as the property owners rented it out to wealthy tourists and I was bollocksed. Crying in despair one day when my money situation got critical, I announced, pulling my head up out of my tear-strewn hands, that we are going to Vancouver to begin this hemp revolution business.

    Once I arrived, I quickly got to work in this unfamiliar new city of Vancouver that I did not know. I sold “High Times” magazines and the book “Grow yer own Stone” door-to-door on the street to raise money, beginning April 11, 1994, and by July 7, 1994, I opened "HEMP BC: the Marijuana & Hemp Center for Greater Vancouver", as my first storefront sign read.

    That’s the summary of the first chapter. So I’ll finish the first draft tonight, and then try to re-write it as neatly as possible by hand and mail it to you. Hopefully these issues of time use on the computer can be dealt with. If I do need more time, there are very few people wanting to use it at 8 am in the morning, when most inmates (including me) are still sleeping, but I may have to rearrange my schedule and perhaps type up my chapters in that period when there is little pressure to use the email.

    I am in good health, my sweetheart, and I am working on my letters, books, and currently reading God Is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens, back to back with Robert Crumb’s illustrated Book of Genesis, from the Bible. The Bible is total fairy tale nonsense, albeit nicely illustrated by Crumb, but that any sentient human can find value in such a story is beyond belief – or rather it IS belief. Religion is strange stuff indeed.

    I am gratified by all your great work on my behalf, and thank you for all the time you spend on my FREE MARC campaign. Without you, I would surely be so demoralized, as this is a hard place to be. I look forward to calling you tonight and especially your visit this Saturday, the highlight of my difficult existence here.

    I love you immensely and long for the time when I am back at your side, as I ought to be and deserve to be. Hopefully people are writing the Minister of Public Safety and urging friends and relatives of theirs to do so also. I need thousands of letters on my behalf to flood the Minister: “Please repatriate Marc Emery at your earliest opportunity.”

    I am very gratified that the opinion writers and editorialists of every stripe are condemning the escalating Conservative attempts to fill the prisons and expand the prisons. We need an election immediately and I hope you are doing your best to urge one in your writings and comments. It is essential we change governments. The country is being dragged, by the Tories, into a dark place of punishment and intolerance and irrationality because theocratic fundamentalist Christians have the government in its grip. People should read The Armageddon Factor, Harper’s Team and Sheeple to find out how bad it’s gotten.

    I Love You so much, and goodbye for now,
    Your devoted and grateful husband,
    Marc

    04
    Aug

    Snippets of My Conversations With Marc Emery

    submitted by on August 4, 2010
    Tags: , ,
    By Loretta Nall, Cannabis Culture
     
    I communicate with my very close friend and mentor Marc Emery nearly every day while he is being held political prisoner in an American federal prison for selling marijuana seeds from Canada.
     
    Despite Marc’s miserable circumstances he maintains his sense of humor…which is essential for maintaining ones sanity during difficult times. For example I got the following email from him yesterday and thought it would be good to share with those of you who read this blog. It’s very humorous in a morbid sort of way.
     

    Dear Loretta,
     
    One of the unsurpassable ironic moments is the postage stamps they sell me are the ‘Liberty Bell’ universal 44 cent stamps. So here I am, a political prisoner (clearly stated by none other than head of DEA Karen Tandy) putting the Liberty Bell on my letters from jail. Oh these United States just crack me up. Like the license plates made in New Hampshire that say "Live Free Or Die" made by the prisoners at the state prison in Concord, NH.
     
    That having been said, one correspondent wrote and asked if I was a dual citizen, because in my writings I write "our constitution" when referencing the Bill of Rights or the Amendments. I said that all my heroes are american, all my political philosophy is guided by Americans, virtually no Canadian political philosopher. My top 5 life influences are Thomas Jefferson (greatest man ever), Ayn Rand, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr and Ron Paul. Even as a teenager the founders of Marvel Comics Stan Lee, Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby influenced me more than any Canadian ever has. So much as I like being a good Canadian (polite, well mannered), I’m really culturally an American, and one day I would appreciate being made an honorary American and given the Medal of Freedom, which I will richly deserve if I get it.
     
    Not only is it humorous….it’s true. We Americans parade around the world gloating about our freedoms. But, how free are we really? Sure we are freer than say those who live in Afghanistan or Iran. But we are far from entirely free. And seeing as how we make up only 5% of the world population but have 25% of the world’s prison population we can’t be that damn free. Can we?
     
    Anyway, just wanted to let readers know that Marc is doing as well a one can do in this situation. He told me a few days ago that Canada is going to begin accepting Canadian prisoners back into the country to do their time there. He will not be able to file his application for transfer until after he reaches his final destination in the American Federal Prison system. Here’s hoping he gets to go home so that he can be closer to his family and so that he gets time off for good behavior.
     

    03
    Aug

    Marc Emery wonders what’s happening with his mail

    submitted by on August 3, 2010
    Tags: ,
    By Charlie Smith, Georgia Straight

     
    The Prince of Pot’s U.S. Federal Prison blog # 8 cites a "disturbing series of occurrences" with his mail.
     
    In the blog, Marc Emery wrote that a number of items he has sent and that he should have received have gone missing.
     
    He mentioned that he decorated an envelope in colour with hand-done calligraphy for a letter to his wife Jodie. Emery wrote that he sent it on July 14 so it would arrive in time for their fourth wedding anniversary on July 23.
     
    "But alas, the letter never arrived, and I don’t know if you or I will ever know where it went," Emery noted.
     
    He also stated that two photographs of him, which he paid for in jail, were sent three weeks ago, but did not make it to their destination.
     
    "Additionally and curiously, numerous letters sent to me here have not arrived," Emery added. "A film script and lengthy letter from my Vancouver friend Mahara sent 25 days ago did not arrive here. Photographs sent to me by ExpressPost two weeks ago by CC editor Jeremiah Vandermeer, of the July 1st celebration at the Art Gallery, did not arrive."
     
    Emery stated in the blog that if items sent to him are refused by the SeaTac Federal Detention Center, he is supposed to be informed of this.
     
    Emery, a Vancouver resident, agreed to plead guilty to one count of marijuana distribution and serve five years for selling marijuana seeds to U.S. customers in violation of U.S. law.
     
    Meanwhile, several pot-smoking people marched in the Vancouver Pride parade on August 1 with a banner calling for Emery to be freed.
     
    His wife Jodie, however, walked with a delegation from the B.C. Green party, including the leader, Jane Sterk.
     
    One of the people in the "Free Marc Emery" group was handing out pieces of paper to the crowd urging them to join the NDP to help end the war on marijuana.
     
    The leaflet cited Vancouver East NDP MP Libby Davies’s opposition to the "war on cannabis" as well as NDP Leader Jack Layton’s call for "better access to medicinal cannabis".
     
    On June 8, Davies wrote a letter to Canadian foreign affairs minister Lawrence Cannon demanding that he take steps to protect Emery’s rights after U.S. authorities put Emery in solitary confinement.
     

    03
    Aug

    Marc Emery Supporters Meet Vic Toews (The Man Who Can Bring Marc Home)

    submitted by on
    Tags: ,
    By Jodie Emery, Cannabis Culture
     
    I received a note on my Facebook wall from Mark Radford in Ontario, alerting me to the fact that Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, the man who will decide if Marc can serve his sentence in Canada, was having a meet-and-greet in Toronto on Tuesday, July 27th. It was the perfect opportunity to ask Vic Toews about Marc!
     
    The event was hosted by the St. Paul’s Conservatives at "The Twisted Kilt" pub, where Conservative Party supporters (and the public) could pay $10 to get in and listen to Vic Toews speak, and then grab a beer or two and mingle amongst the people and influential individuals attending.

    I shared the link to the "Evening with Vic Toews" event on Facebook and asked people in the area to please attend to ask Vic Toews to bring Marc home. That evening I got pictures from the event and sure enough, Mark Radford attended, and so did three members of the Toronto "Hash Mob" who were there wearing FREE MARC shirts and carrying a stack of FREE MARC information handouts (the files for printing your own are available here).

    Jeff H, Caroline, and Rev. Daniel arrived first. Jeff reported that Vic Toews and all of the much-older Conservatives were surprised to see them there, but they got to walk up to Toews and talk to him. Jeff wrote, "They were all formally dressed Conservatives who were ready to die when they saw us. Vic Toews chugged his beer during the event and just watched us. They all seemed to know about your [Jodie’s] role in the Green Party, which is weird."

    Caroline handed Toews one of the information sheets about Marc, which includes (on the back) the contact information for people to get in touch with him to ask for Marc’s return home. Jeff wrote that "he said he had no comment and no interest in speaking about Marc Emery. Caroline said on behalf of his wife and friends and all Canadians bring him home. He said to discuss that would be highly illegal. They just drank their alcohol and ignored us mostly."

    So, after they left, Mark Radford arrived, having been busy at work until then. Mark’s report is especially interesting, so I want to share it here in full:

    *****

    Hi Jodie,

    I went to the Twisted Kilt on a mission to speak with Vic Toews. I was an hour late because of work but determined; with my luck I didn’t miss a thing.

    There was a small chalk board outside read "St Pauls Conservatives 2nd Floor". I ascended the stairs to be immediately greeted by the eyes of older folks, mostly members of the St. Paul’s Conservatives. Politely I was asked if I had my $10 dollars. I had just run there to ensure I was in the right place, so immediately ran to the closest ATM.

    That being said, I got there at the nick of time, about quarter to 7. Being late I was positioned just at front where I was in perfect position to listen to Vic talk on a number of topics and then listen to his few answering of questions. One point of highlight was that he made donations to a number of a religious groups recently attacked in the Toronto. He made strong points about giving back to the areas affected by the G20 "riots", and compensation associated with business owners. After talking about a number of things he concluded by answering a few questions. He offered his availability to chat and answer questions one-on-one. I took this as my opportunity to quickly grab a beer, as Vic had one himself, and moved in to ask the points I wanted to quickly discuss.

    I opened my conversation acknowledging his efforts on ensuring public safety. He made some interesting points in his speech I did not know prior to the evening. We had a quick chuckle about the G20 definitely keeping himself busy, and than I got to business.

    The first question I posed to Vic was "How could I get more involved in politics at a regional level?" Immediately he introduced me to a few people who were standing by. He introduced me to Kevin Moore, who is Conservative Party of Canada candidate for Toronto Center, and a gentleman working within the Toronto District School Board. After some interesting advice we moved back to our beer, and I got to the questions I had wanted to ask all evening.

    I opened with my next question, "Did you ever have a particular thing that inspired you to get involved in politics, a topic or issue?" He than stated, "I didn’t get into politics until later in my life. I am from a small town outside of Winnipeg, and was concerned about Manitoba’s debt. It was then that I spoke up, and got involved in politics." I complimented him saying that was interesting and that I can relate, I positioned myself, "we may eternally disagree on something, but that difference is what drives me feel impelled to get involved."

    I then went on, "I disagree with Canadian Drug Policy, because of the laws that in place criminalizing drugs. We are fueling violence by creating a market for organized crime." Talking in his terms with some literal sense I continued: "We are putting money and power into the hands of sometimes violent criminals." I concluded, "The victims are not those themselves taking the drugs, but the innocent people who are victims of drug related crime."

    I then questioned: "That being said, why not regulate drugs, and take the money out of organize crimes and put it towards funding of public safety initiatives?" Vic responded. "You aren’t far off. I actually agree with some of your points. I have had people within my party who grill me on this subject. Friends who are Libertarians, who especially grill me on the subject." He concluded by saying, "The concept is growing in popularity the votes just aren’t in that favor." Vic then with sincerity said "I don’t disagree with everything your saying, stay involved do what it takes to get your message across. Talk with Conservative MP’s, and get people on board. You don’t have to get involved with the Marijuana Party to disagree with drug laws. You can still be a conservative but disagree on Canadian Drug Policy."

    After his previous comments, I had the last question I had been itching to ask. "Obviously you have received the documents associated with Marc Emery coming home to Canada. Are you able to talk about his possible return?" He opened, "the one thing about Marc Emery is that he does it to himself." As soon as he said that, I focused everything I had at communicating my attention; I was listening carefully and let him know that I cared about every detail of his words.

    He continued, "I have heard the many letters of support, and will take a strong consideration." He concluded, "If Marc Emery can promise to not sell drugs to the United States or within Canada," I politely interrupted "marijuana seeds", he said "thank you, if he promises to not sell marijuana seeds after serving his sentence within the United States or within Canada, I would be willing to bring him home." I said "thank you. His friends, and thousands of supporters, including his wife, appreciate the strong consideration." He sincerely looked at me saying, "Thank you for coming out tonight." He answered the questions of one other person, and quickly left with his assistant.

    I did miss the earlier supporters, but I saw the many "Free Marc Emery" handouts that had been dropped off by Rev. Dan Oral Walker, Jeff H, and Caroline Ruibal. It is great they had the opportunity to talk with him as well. After the speech, while people were mingling, I saw a lot of people pick up the pamphlet and ask who he was, and what it was about. It was a great conversation starter. I definitely did not come as prepared with materials as they did, I only had my questions and my word. I wish I had gotten the opportunity to meet them, I am sure the opportunity will arise soon.

    *****

    That was an amazing report! This is great news because Marc will not sell marijuana seeds again, he has never wanted to sell marijuana seeds again, and he didn’t sell seeds for the entire 5 years he was on bail before being imprisoned in the USA. So we can now work on asking Vic Toews to please keep his word and bring Marc home as soon as possible.

    Marc is due to be sentenced on September 10th, and soon after that he will submit his "International Transfer of Offenders Act" (or, the Transfer Treaty) application. The USA and Canada have a Treaty Transfer agreement that requires each country to return citizens of the other country home to serve their sentences. The US Government rarely rejects applications by Canadians to leave the USA and serve time in Canada, but under the Conservative Government of Canada, the Public Safety Ministers (currently Vic Toews) have been delaying for years, or outright rejecting, transfer applications.

    Canadians have the right under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Section 6: Mobility, the right to enter, leave, and remain in Canada) to come back home, and the Transfer Treaty Agreement stipulates that citizens are allowed to serve their time in their home country.

    So now we just need to ensure that Vic Teows approves Marc’s application as quickly as possible, once he receives it. We’re asking supporters to please write to Vic Toews and ask him to bring Marc home!

    Contact Public Safety Minister Vic Toews (pronounced "Taves") and tell him to approve Marc Emery’s application for transfer back to Canada as soon as the submission is made!

    Public Safety Minister and Conservative MP Vic Toews:

    Parliament Hill
    Suite 306, Justice Building House of Commons
    Ottawa, ON
    K1A 0A6
    Ph: (613) 992-3128
    Fx: (613) 995-1049
    E-mail: Toews.V@parl.gc.ca

    Steinbach Office
    8-227 Main Street
    Steinbach, MB
    R5G 1Y7
    Ph: (204) 326-9889
    Fx: (204) 346-9874
    E-mail: toewsv1@mts.net

    Lac du Bonnet Office
    Box 266
    Lac du Bonnet, MB
    R0E 1A0
    Ph: (204) 345-9762
    Fx: (204) 345-9768
    E-mail: toewsv1@mts.net

    Here is a sample letter you can use, but you’re encouraged to add your own short thoughts and opinions to make it unique and more effective.

    "Dear Honourable Vic Toews,

    I would like to say Thank You, Mr. Toews, after reading an item posted on the internet about your St. Paul’s Conservatives meeting and the comments about your intention to repatriate Canadian citizen Marc Emery once his treaty transfer application is on your desk.

    I regard Marc Emery as an upstanding role-model Canadian who has made over three decades of contributions to making Canada, and the world, a better place. He has never hurt anyone, and he won’t ever sell marijuana seeds again.

    I salute your intention to bring Marc Emery into the Canadian correction system as soon as is possible, with no delay. He should be brought home to be closer to his wife and family as he serves the remainder of his sentence. Thank you for your consideration and I hope to see Marc Emery home soon with your approval.

    Regards,
    (your name here)"

    ← Older Entries
    Newer Entries →
    © 2009 - 2025 Free Marc Emery (Marc Scott Emery). All rights reserved.
    Powered by WordPress.org