Two associates of the self-proclaimed “Prince of Pot” Marc Emery pleaded guilty Friday in federal court in Seattle to conspiracy to manufacture marijuana.

Michelle Rainey, 38, and Gregory Keith Williams, 54, both from Vancouver, B.C., made the pleas. Both worked at Emery Seeds and were indicted in 2005. Under a plea deal, prosecutors will recommend a sentence for both of two years probation.

Sentencing will be July 17.

The lead defendant in that 2005 indictment, Marc Emery, is still in Canada and is fighting extradition. He is supposed to have an extradition hearing in Canada on June 1.

He is a supporter of decriminalizing marijuana and his indictment has stirred passions in Canada — against both the wisdom of U.S. drug laws and their use against Emery and his employees.

According to court documents, Rainey worked for Emery — the Prince of Pot who says his business has sold more than 4 million marijuana seeds — from 1998 to 2005. She helped Emery’s business of sending marijuana seeds through the mail by filling orders.

Emery told her to send seeds and growing instructions to customers, court documents say. Three out of four customers were in the U.S.

Williams handled phone orders for the business, according to court documents. He also sold seeds to walk-in customers.

Williams confirmed in court documents claims on the Emery website of the business’ taking in more than $3 million in year by selling marijuana seeds.

– Article from The Seattle Post Intelligencer.

Vancouver ‘Prince of Pot’ pals plead guilty in U.S. to marijuana charges

SEATTLE, WA. — Two former employees of Vancouver’s self-proclaimed Prince of Pot have pleaded guilty in a Seattle court to conspiracy to manufacture marijuana.

The United States Attorney’s Office says Michelle Rainey and Gregory Keith Williams, both of Vancouver, have pleaded guilty in a Seattle court to conspiracy to manufacture marijuana.

Thirty-eight-year-old Rainey and 54-year-old Williams were charged along with pot advocate Marc Emery in 2005 for selling seeds over the Internet. Emery is scheduled for an extradition hearing in Vancouver on June 1.

The U.S. Attorney says that under the terms of the plea agreement, they’ll recommend sentences of two years’ probation at a sentencing hearing on July 17.

The office says that between 2003 and 2005, Rainey mailed marijuana seeds and growing instructions to customers – 75 per cent of whom live in the United States.

U.S. officials say Williams handled phone orders and sold seeds to customers coming into Emery’s store in Vancouver and on several occasions in 2004, sold some to a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration undercover agent.

– Article from The Canadian Press.