CANNABIS CULTURE – Members of Parliament from the Liberal, New Democratic, and Conservative Parties of Canada presented petitions today to the House of Commons with over 12,000 signatures asking the Minister of Justice to stop the extradition of marijuana activist Marc Emery.

In a show of cross-party MP support rarely seen in the House, Scott Reid (Conservative), Libby Davies (NDP), and Ujjal Dosanjh (Liberal) stood in succession and asked Conservative Minister of Justice Rob Nicholson to refuse to sign extradition orders sending Emery, a Vancouver entrepreneur and well-known activist, to the United States for a 5-year prison term.

Conservative MP Scott Reid: “I’m presenting a petition today, quite a large petition as you can see from the pile on the table beside me, regarding Marc Emery, the leader of the British Columbia Marijuana Party, who is facing deportation to the United States. The petitioners draw the attention of Parliament to a number of pertinent facts, I won’t go through all of them but I think some are relevant here. Marc Emery’s activities, the ones for which he is being extradited involve selling viable seeds, viable marijuana seeds, over the Internet. It’s worth noting that these activities were approved by Health Canada’s referral of medical marijuana patients to his seed bank. It is worth noting as well that courts in ruling on this subject, Canadian courts have ruled that a $200 fine is an appropriate punishment for this kind of activity as opposed to extradition to a country where he can face potentially life imprisonment. Finally it is worth noting that, under the Extradition Act, the petitioners point out, the Canadian Minister of Justice shall refuse to surrender a person when that surrender could involve unjust or undue or oppressive actions by the country to which he being extradited.”

NDP MP Libby Davies: “I too have a very big stack of petitions to present, about 4000 petitions, along with other colleagues in the House who have received a similar number, and these are petitions from Canadians across the country who draw to our attention a matter of great urgency concerning the US call for extradition of Mr. Marc Emery as we’ve heard just earlier. Many dedicated individuals have collected approximately 12,000 petitions reflecting a strong belief that Mr. Emery or any Canadian should not face harsh punishment in the US for selling cannabis seeds on the Internet when it is not worthy of prosecution in Canada. The petitioners call on Parliament to make it clear to the Minister of Justice that such an extradition should be opposed. I am very pleased to present this; I think it is a very strong reflection of Canadians’ views on this matter and we hope that the Parliament of Canada will act on this, and certainly the Minister of Justice will take this into account.”

Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh: “I join my previous two colleagues with respect to this petition regarding Marc Emery. I believe there is a certain degree of unfairness that is inherent in the process that has been used to deal with him, and these petitions urge the Minister, the Attorney General, to not surrender Marc Emery to the United States for extradition. While I come from British Columbia, a former attorney general and former Premier of British Columbia, I have certain sympathies with Mr. Emery, not because of what he did, but because I believe that the process that was used to arrest him and punish him wouldn’t have been done in the case of Canadian authorities wanting to arrest him and punish him, and I believe that because of that unfairness, the Minister of Justice is urged by the petitioner to take another look at it.”



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Emery, known by fans as the Prince of Pot, is the president of the BC Marijuana Party and the former publisher of Cannabis Culture. Emery’s online seed business was raided and shut down in 2005 by DEA agents and Vancouver Police. He was arrested and faced possible life imprisonment in the US before making a deal with American prosecutors for a 5-year term in a US jail.

“I thought it was very gracious of Ujjal Dosanjh to say as a former Premier and Attorney General he was sympathetic to my situation,” Marc Emery told Cannabis Culture. It was wonderful to hear Scott Reid of the governing Conservative Party articulate that Health Canada sent people to buy seeds from me. Libby Davies was heartfelt in her support for me. They all brought salient points forward and it was a wonderful moment.”

Emery surrendered himself to Canadian authorities on September 28, 2009 and was imprisoned at North Fraser Pretrial Centre awaiting the Minister of Justice’s signature on the extradition papers.

While he was there, dozens of protestors held a permanent vigil on the edge of prison property. Emery continued his activism work while locked up, recorded regular podcasts available through Cannabis Culture.

He was released on bail on November 18, 2009, awaiting the Justice Minister’s signature, and remains temporarily free. He expects to renew his bail this month.

Emery and his supporters say the 2005 DEA raid on his business was an overtly political act, and point to statements made at the time by DEA administrator Karen Tandy calling Emery’s arrest “a signficant 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,” she said. “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 Canda. Drug legalization lobbyists now have one less pot of money to rely on.”

The presentation of petitions in support of the activist, who has for years represented a growing culture of cannabis users, comes a day before Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper faces multiple questions about marijuana in an online question/answer poll sponsored by Google and YouTube.

“It would be wonderful if Harper would answer truthfully,” Emery said, “but I expect to hear more disappointing answers to our legitimate questions.”

Click here to find out how to help Marc Emery stay out of an American prison.

Local politicians present petition to stop Marc Emery’s extradition

by Jill Drews, News1130

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The Prince of Pot could be extradited to the U.S. any day, but it’s hoped a petition will see the Federal Justice Minister reconsider. MPs from three of Canada’s major political parties present a petition in the House of Commons today which aims to keep Marc Emery in Canada.

Emery has pleaded guilty to a drug distribution charge in the U.S., after he was arrested in 2005 for selling marijuana seeds to American customers. Emery faced a possible life sentence if the case went to trial. He’ll spend five years in a U.S. prison on a drug distribution charge if extradited.

Roughly 12,000 people have signed the petition asking Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson not to sign Emery’s extradition order. Liberal MP for Vancouver South Ujjal Dosanjh, the NDP’s Libby Davies and Conservative Scott Reid will hand over the petition in the House of Commons.

Dosanjh says presenting petitions is something he is routinely asked to do. “You don’t always agree with everything the petition says or anything that it says…We believe it’s a function that we perform.”

The Justice Minister has had the power to sign the document for over two months, but hasn’t.

Dosanjh isn’t sure how the petition will impact the Justice Minister’s decision. “I’m hoping that the Justice Minister is having the same kind of considerations that are going through our heads while we present these petitions. It’s not necessarily that we agree with Mr. Emery completely or partially, it is that we sense a degree of unfairness in what’s happened to him.”

MPs back push to keep Prince of Pot in Canada

by Matt Kieltyka, 24 Hours

Marc Emery is still awaiting extradition to the U.S. on drug distribution charges, but there’s a new push to keep the Prince of Pot in Canada.

Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh, NDP MP Libby Davies and Conservative MP Scott Reid presented the House of Commons with a 12,000-signature petition Monday pleading with federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson to reconsider handing Emery over to the U.S., where he faces five years in jail for selling marijuana seeds online.

Dosanjh said he has an obligation to present petitions on behalf of constituents regardless if he agrees, but is glad to speak out in this case.

“This is an obligation as a Member of Parliament, but I sympathize with Emery’s plight,” the Vancouver-South MP told 24 hours. “There is a certain degree of unfairness in how he has been treated.”

Dosanjh said the marijuana activist should serve his time in Canada.

“I would like the Minister of Justice to consider not surrendering Marc,” he said, adding that the decision wouldn’t do anything to hurt relations between the two countries.

Emery has been out on bail since mid-November as he awaits extradition, but the order has yet to be signed by Nicholson.

His wife, Jodie Emery, ran against Dosanjh in the last federal election as a Green Party candidate.

Three MPs table petitions against Vancouver pot activist Marc Emery’s extradition to U.S.

by Stephen Hui, The Georgia Straight

Three members of Parliament from three political parties have introduced in the House of Commons petitions signed by 12,000 people opposed to the extradition to the U.S. of Vancouver-based marijuana activist Marc Emery.

The stacks of petitions were tabled today (March 15) by Conservative MP Scott Reid of Ontario, Vancouver East NDP MP Libby Davies, and Vancouver South Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh.

“These are petitions from Canadians across the country who draw to our attention a matter of great urgency concerning the U.S. call for extradition of Mr. Marc Emery, as we’ve heard just earlier,” Davies told the House. “Many dedicated individuals have collected approximately 12,000 petitions reflecting a strong belief that Mr. Emery or any Canadian should not face harsh punishment in the U.S. for selling cannabis seeds on the Internet, when it is not worthy of prosecution in Canada.

“And the petitioners call on Parliament to make it clear to the minister of justice that such an extradition should be opposed,” Davies added.

According to Davies, the petitions offer a “very strong reflection of Canadians’ view on this matter”.

Last summer, Emery agreed to a plea bargain with American authorities that will probably see him land in a U.S. jail for at least five years for distributing marijuana seeds.

Emery, also known as the Prince of Pot, is the president of the B.C. Marijuana Party.

Three MPs work to block pot activist Marc Emery’s extradition to U.S.

by Andy Ivens, The Province

Marijuana activist Marc Emery’s battle to avoid going to a U.S. prison got a boost Monday in the House of Commons.

Three MPs — Libby Davies of the New Democratic Party, Ujjal Dosanjh of the Liberals and Scott Reid of the Conservatives — presented a petition asking Justice Minister Rob Nicholson not to sign extradition papers that would send Emery south to serve a five-year sentence for selling marijuana seeds online in 2005.

More than 12,000 Canadians signed the petition.

“In Vancouver, everywhere I go, people make a point of expressing good wishes that I don’t get extradited,” Emery said Monday.

His removal order has been sitting on the justice minister’s desk since Jan. 8.

“Nine weeks have passed and he hasn’t made that decision, so something is keeping him from doing it,” said Emery, who noted the Conservatives could score political points, especially with young voters, if his extradition is halted.

All three MPs told their fellow MPs Emery’s extradition smacks of unfairness.

Canadian courts have established a person convicted of selling marijuana seeds should face a fine of $200. In the U.S., a person could be sentenced to life in prison for the same crime.

Emery, 52, and two employees were arrested in 2005 by Canadian police acting as agents for the U.S. department of justice. He is not facing a charge in Canada.

Reid, an Ontario MP, told the Commons that the Extradition Act states the justice minister “shall refuse to surrender a person when that surrender could involve unjust or undue or oppressive actions by the country to which he is being extradited.”

Davies, the MP for Vancouver East, said she has found broad support for Emery.

“People don’t understand why Marc Emery should be extradited. He was never prosecuted in Canada for these crimes, and I think people see it as a question of Canadian sovereignty,” she said.

Dosanjh, MP for Vancouver South, said: “It appears to me that we have assisted a foreign government arrest a man for doing something that we wouldn’t arrest him for doing in Canada.

“As a former premier and a former attorney-general, I sense a certain degree of unfairness in the process.”

MPs want to keep Prince of Pot in Canada

by Matt Kieltyka, Toronto Sun

VANCOUVER — Marc Emery is still awaiting extradition to the U.S. on drug distribution charges, but there’s a new push to keep the Prince of Pot in Canada.

Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh, NDP MP Libby Davies and Conservative MP Scott Reid presented the House of Commons with a 12,000-signature petition Monday pleading with federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson to reconsider handing Emery over to the U.S., where he faces five years in jail for selling marijuana seeds online.

Dosanjh said he has an obligation to present petitions on behalf of constituents regardless if he agrees, but is glad to speak out in this case.

“This is an obligation as a Member of Parliament, but I sympathize with Emery’s plight,” the Vancouver-South MP told QMI Agency. “There is a certain degree of unfairness in how he has been treated.”

Dosanjh said the marijuana activist should serve his time in Canada.

“I would like the Minister of Justice to consider not surrendering Marc,” he said, adding that the decision wouldn’t do anything to hurt relations between the two countries.

Emery has been out on bail since mid-November as he awaits extradition, but the order has yet to be signed by Nicholson.

His wife, Jodie Emery, ran against Dosanjh in the last federal election as a Green Party candidate.