VANCOUVER - Vancouver’s “prince of pot” Marc Emery has been approved for transfer from federal prison in the U.S., where he has been serving time since 2010.

On July 9, the U.S. Department of Justice determined the pot activist can spend the rest of his five-year sentence in Canada. His Canadian lawyer, Kirk Tousaw, obtained a copy of the decision, which was also sent to the federal Public Safety department for approval.

“I can confirm the U.S. side has approved Marc’s transfer,” Tousaw said Wednesday. “The next step is to have the minister of public safety here in Canada — whomever that is — approve the transfer from the Canadian side.”

On Monday Public Safety Minister Vic Toews announced he was resigning effective immediately ahead of an anticipated cabinet shuffle.

“We don’t know whether or not he was apprised of this decision before his resignation, or whether it was acted upon,” Tousaw said, adding he had not yet heard from Canadian officials.

“We’d certainly like to see it happen pretty quickly.”

In 2010, Emery was sentenced for selling marijuana seeds through his Vancouver-based catalogue company, and is housed at a medium-security prison in Yazoo City, Miss. Emery used the proceeds from the seed sales to fund drug reform lobbying, political parties and other pot activism, and is the leader of the British Columbia Marijuana Party.

His wife Jodie posted an elated message to her Twitter account Wednesday asking her followers to sign a petition to bring Emery home.

“Absolutely I’m optimistic the Canadian government will approve the transfer,” Jodie said in a phone interview as she was waiting to hear her husband’s reaction.

It’s possible the government can take up to 90 days to make a decision.

Toews was reprimanded last year by a Federal Court judge for refusing to transfer another prisoner back from the U.S.

If the transfer doesn’t go through, Emery will return to B.C. in one year, after serving 85 per cent of his prison sentence. In the U.S. federal corrections system, inmates serving more than a year get a reduction for good behaviour.

“He’s 77 per cent done his sentence,” Jodie said.

“It’s a little difficult counting down to a date that isn’t set, so I don’t know if it will be weeks, months, half a year. But either way he’s coming home.”

zmcknight@vancouversun.com