Ottawa nixed extradition deal, says Pot Prince Emery
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Source: National Post
Link: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=404225
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Ottawa nixed extradition deal, says Pot Prince Emery
Ian Mulgrew, Canwest News Service
Published: Thursday, March 27, 2008
VANCOUVER -- A tentative deal between Marc Emery and the
U.S.
government over money laundering and drug charges has been
nixed by
Ottawa, the marijuana crusader said Thursday.
Mr. Emery says the federal Conservatives have refused to go
along
with a proposal that would have seen him spend five years
behind
bars for selling marijuana seeds through the mail.
Under the defunct pact, Mr. Emery was to plead guilty on
both sides
of the border and accept a sentence of 10 years imprisonment
on the
understanding he would serve half, mostly in Canada.
"All that was required for this deal was a rubber stamp from
the
federal government," Mr. Emery said.
"They have, instead, rejected the deal without explanation .
. it
is clearly political."
There was no immediate confirmation of Mr. Emery's claim
from the
federal government.
The longtime cannabis crusader said he originally agreed to
the jail
time in part to spare his associates and co-accused Michelle
Rainey
and Gregg Williams from prosecution and prison.
"I was willing, the Americans were willing and all that we
needed
was the Conservative government to also agree," the
50-year-old said.
"I certainly didn't think that would be a problem. After
all, I was
agreeing to serve five years for a crime that would result
in little
over a month in jail for any one of the many seed-sellers
operating
then, and now, in Vancouver and across Canada."
The trio was charged in Aug. 2005 after a raid by local
police and
American law-enforcement agents on MR. Emery's downtown
Vancouver
headquarters. They were accused of violating U.S. laws even
though
none had ventured south of the border.
Mr. Emery was the primary target, in particular, he says,
because of
his decade-long campaign to end the criminal prohibition
against
cannabis in North America.
"The Americans targeted me for my political views and
activism," he
said.
"And now my own government won't go along with an
American-endorsed
deal because they want me gone."
U.S. prosecutors have offered Mr. Williams and Ms. Rainey
jail
sentences in the three-to-five-month range and probation in
exchange
for guilty pleas.
Ms. Rainey, who suffers from Crohn's disease, was Emery's
longtime
right-hand but has since become one of the country's leading
medical
marijuana advocates.
"It's in the hands of my lawyer," she said about the deal.
"But it
may be the best option under the circumstances."
Williams, too, sees the deal as attractive compared to the
prospect
of a potential 10- to 20-plus-year sentence in an American
penitentiary.
"It is hard for me to believe that marijuana is even
illegal, much
less that I'm facing the possibility of life in prison," he
told
me. "I'm stunned that our government can't deal with
cannabis in our
society in an adult way."
The political landscape has changed dramatically since MR.
Emery
began politicking for cannabis over a decade ago.
From 1998 until his arrest, MR. Emery even paid provincial
and
federal taxes as a "marijuana seed vendor" totalled nearly
$600,000.
"Over the last 10 years, I operated openly and
transparently," MR.
Emery insisted.
"Six times a year, I sent every Member of Parliament a copy
of my
seed catalogue. I donated tens of thousands to politicians
of every
party, at every level of government. They all gladly cashed
my
cheques knowing full well the source of the money. Under the
definition of the law, they are all guilty of money
laundering, the
very crime I'm being extradited for."
Kirk Tousaw, one of the lawyers involved in the defence
team, said
the government's stance seemed to run counter to the
country's "traditional commitment to freedom, justice and
compassion."
"We know that most Canadians understand that marijuana is a
relatively harmless plant that should not be illegal," he
said.
The last time Mr. Emery was convicted in Canada of selling
cannabis
seeds, back in 1998, he was given a $2,000 fine.
Vancouver Sun
