Free Marc Emery

By: Andrew Moran, Digital Journal

 

Toronto – Rallies occurred around the world to protest the five-year prison sentence of the "Prince of Pot" Marc Emery. Protests took place in Toronto, Berlin, Antarctica, Vancouver, Oslo and other areas around the globe.

 

Last week, Canadian marijuana activist Marc Emery was sentenced by a United States District Court Judge to five years in prison on drug distribution charges. The U.S. federal judge recommended that the 52-year-old Emery be allowed to serve his time in Canada.

 

On Saturday, rallies were held worldwide to protest the imprisonment of Emery, according to Cannabis Culture. Majority of the protests were held in front of U.S. and Canadian Consulates/Embassies demanding that Emery be sent back to Canada and released immediately.

 

In Canada, the rallies also urged people to stop bill S-10, which contains mandatory minimum sentence laws, including 9 months for 6 marijuana plants and 18 months for making one marijuana cookie. This bill is expected to cost billions of dollars.

Protests have been scheduled all over the world in Europe, Australia, Asia, North America and even Antarctica.

 

In the meantime, Emery has been posting prison blogs. “The Prince of Pot’s” latest blog was published on Monday:

“We have huge support to have me transferred back to Canada! We have dozens of elected politicians signing a joint letter to Vic Toews urging my repatriation, including MPs, Mayors, Councillors, MLAs, and Senators,” wrote Emery. “Toews has received over a thousand letters so far since August 1st and I know he will get several hundred more. We must urge everyone to send in a letter to him urging my immediate approval of my transfer under the treaty that obligates the Canadian government to bring me back.”

 

By: Renee Bernard, News 1130

 

Marc Emery, the self-proclaimed "Prince of Pot," has only begun to serve his sentence in the States, and already there are calls for him to come home.

 

A rally took place in Vancouver today to free the man who was convicted of selling pot seeds in the US via mail and online.

 

Jacob Hunter, the rally’s organizer, claims similar rallies are being held around the world, in countries as far as China and Norway. "I don’t think Marc should be in jail at all, but I am quite frankly willing to accept the half-measure of just bringing him home to Canada, which I would point out is actually a legal obligation for the public safety minister. He does not have a choice of whether or not to return Marc to Canada. Under the law, he actually has to."

 

Emery was sentenced last week to five years in jail.

 

VANCOUVER/CKNW(AM980)

 

Supporters of Canada’s self proclaimed "Prince of Pot" hope Public Safety Minister Vic Toews brings him home sooner rather than later.

 

They’re holding 93 rallies around the world Saturday for Marc Emery, including one in China for the first time.

 

Emery’s wife Jodie says her husband should serve the rest of his 5 year sentence in a Canadian prison, and hopes Toews makes that decision,"We’re gathering support from various elected officials and previously elected officials who know Marc, and may not condone his activities, but certainly believe he should be brought back to Canada."

 

Several rallies will take place at various Vancouver intersections, with the main protest at Victory Square Park at around 2pm.

 

The Province

 

Supporters of the self-proclaimed "prince of pot" plan to rally at several Vancouver intersections Saturday, as well as dozens of other locations around the world, to make a plea for his return to Canada.

 

Marc Emery is serving a five-year jail sentence in the U.S. for drug trafficking after he was found guilty of selling marijuana seeds over the Internet.

 

At sentencing earlier this month, a Seattle prosecutor rejected Emery’s claims he was being selectively and vigorously prosecuted because of his pro-pot political crusade.

 

U.S. Attorney Todd Greenberg said Emery was found guilty for "long-term, repeated violation of U.S. drug laws."

 

However, Judge Ricardo Martinez said he wouldn’t object to Emery’s transfer to a Canadian jail to serve out his sentence.

 

That decision would have to come from the U.S. State Department.

 

Emery’s wife, Jodie, said rallies are planned around the globe Saturday to push for her husband’s return to Canada.

By Jeremy Kay, ScreenDaily.com

 

Cinemavault has acquired worldwide rights to the mobster film Donkey and marijuana activist documentary Citizen Marc.

 

The deals come as the Toronto-based sales company boosts its efforts to add more Canadian fare to the slate.

 

Donkey comes from Canadian film-maker Adrian Langley and tells the story of Don Keys, an ex-con looking for revenge.

 

Citizen Marc is a profile of the infamous marijuana advocate Marc Emery and explores his passionate activism and self-imposed martyrdom.

 

Vice-president of acquisitions Craig Morrow negotiated the Donkey deal with Langley of Fluke Films. Morrow struck the Citizen Marc deal with Roger Larry who directed, produced a co-wrote the film with Sandra Tomc.

 

By Sandra Thomas, Vancouver Courier

 

Cosmetic pesticide use was banned in Vancouver Jan. 1, 2007.

 

But the sale of pesticides wasn’t banned. So as long as you promise the sales-clerk at your local garden shop or big box store that you’re intending to use that bottle or box of chemicals anywhere but in the soon-to-be greenest city in the world, you can make your purchase and leave.

 

That sales-clerk has no way of knowing if you plan to use those pesticides in Vancouver or in a municipality where the toxic chemicals are also banned. It makes me wonder if there would be any repercussions should the purchaser of those chemicals be busted using them illegally and the package was traced back to a Vancouver store.

 

I’m confident nothing would happen because as I mentioned earlier, it’s not against the law to sell pesticides in Vancouver. And what if pesticides with a Vancouver-based price tag were found in the home of a Washington State resident living in a jurisdiction where the ban also exists? Would the Vancouver seller be hauled south of the border to face charges of dealing in an illegal substance? I doubt it. And should Washington officials attempt to extradite a Canadian citizen for selling a product legally available in Vancouver, I would hope our government officials would stand up and say no way.

 

Which brings me to Marc Emery.

 

Emery was busted in 2005 for selling marijuana seeds to Americans through his Vancouver-based mail order business. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, Emery likely sold millions of the seeds, which they say translates into millions of pot plants, a figure I heartily dispute as the unsuccessful grower of anything beginning with a seed.

 

After fighting for more than five years to avoid jail time in an American prison, Emery took a plea bargain and began a five-year sentence last Friday. The Prince of Pot wasn’t busted by Canadian authorities for selling his product in Vancouver, but instead by a country where selling pot seeds is considered a crime worthy of five years in a federal penitentiary. Emery and his defence team are fighting to have him serve his sentence in Canada, which is only fair, considering the Canadian authorities should have never allowed his extradition for a "crime" for which he never would have been busted if he’d kept his seeds north of the 49th parallel.

 

If all goes well, Emery will serve just four to six weeks in an American federal prison before being transferred back to Canada to serve out his sentence. Some people now complain Canadian taxpayers will be stuck financially for keeping Emery in jail for a crime he was found guilty of in the U.S. But in a city where pot smoking is pretty much ignored by local cops and government, Emery was made a scapegoat in the so-called war on drugs, which by the way is now being credited for the deaths of more than 28,000 people in Mexico since 2006. That’s right, 28,000.

 

I was saddened to read on the weekend that Emery has promised to quit smoking pot if that will help get him home. I don’t have a lot in common with chronic pot smokers–I’m too Type A to appreciate their laid back demeanor, but come on, this is the Prince of Pot. Love him or hate him, Emery has been fighting to legalize marijuana in Canada for more than 30 years. But finally our government has broken him. It took the help of what’s considered the most powerful country in the world, but collectively they finally brought the bespectacled Emery to his knees.

 

This Saturday activists from around the world are hosting Free Marc Emery rallies, including three in Vancouver. For times and locations go to www.freemarc.ca.

 

Red Deer Advocate

 

A rally will be held in support of Canada’s “Prince of Pot” in City Hall Park on Saturday as part of a world-wide protest.

 

Marijuana activist Marc Emery was sentenced to five years in prison on Sept. 10 by a U.S. federal judge in Seattle, Wash.

 

He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to manufacture marijuana in May.

 

The owner of Vancouver’s Cannabis Culture store was extradited to the United States after being charged with shipping millions of marijuana seeds to customers south of the border.

 

The organizer of the Red Deer rally, which that will run from noon to 4:20 p.m., says it will be a peaceful event.

 

Emery supporters are calling for Canadian Justice Minister Vic Toews to accept Emery’s treaty transfer application so he can serve his time in Canada.