Marc Emery has been sentenced to 5 years in prison in a U.S. jail. In 2005, upon the request of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, he was arrested by the Vancouver police. The U.S. wanted to charge him with "conspiracy to manufacture marijuana". Instead of telling the U.S. government to fuck off when they requested his extradition, (after all, the Canadian police didn't lay any charges even though these acts took place in Canada) the Canadian Justice Minister approved his deportation from his own country to the U.S. Marc surrendered, pleaded guilty to one count and is now in jail in Seattle serving his sentence.
So what did this evil, international mastermind do to warrant all this attention? He sold seeds.
Here's how it worked. You would consult his catalogue on the website which had detailed descriptions of all the different types of seeds. You would place your order by mail with a money order made out to Marc. You could order only 10 of any one type of seed and if memory serves, there was a limit of 3 different types - in other words a maximum of 30 seeds per order. Something like that, not a lot. Once the order had been shipped, your address and purchase information was destroyed. Within a few days, an envelope arrived in the mail. Easy, fast, convenient, personal. Great service. I know, I was a satisfied customer.
Oh, and he also shipped to the U.S. for the convenience of our southern neighbours. He had tons of customers and apparently he made a lot of money selling seeds which funded some of his other activities. He paid his provincial and federal taxes as a "marijuana seed vendor".
So now he's in an American jail.
What makes this prosecution so revolting is that this has nothing to do with seeds. It is completely political and a persecution of free speech. Marc was publisher of Cannabis Culture magazine. He had an online TV station, POT-TV. He was a founder of the Marijuana Party of Canada and ran for office - Mayor of Vancouver three times as well as an earlier candidacy for parliament with the Libertarian Party of Canada and in provincial elections. Documentaries and plays have been produced about him. His activities generated a lot of Canadian and U.S. media attention. He spoke at rallies urging the legalization of marijuana and financed pro-cannabis lobby groups and activists. He spoke out about what he believed in, and gave voice to something that many silent people also believe - that marijuana should be legalized.
No doubt, it's been a grueling time for Marc Emery these last years, up against governments with all their resources. I never believed that it would go this far. Who is it who believes that a jail cell is the appropriate way to get someone to shut up, to make someone stop voicing an alternative opinion? Who are these morons? And how did they get so powerful, to enable them to create political prisoners of activists? Those on both sides of the border colluding on this need to get out more. Freedom of speech - what bullshit.
Thank you, Marc Emery.
This Saturday, September 18th, is Free Marc Emery Rally Day. So far there are over 80 rallies scheduled worldwide, including in Shenchen, China. I'm not making this up. (Although somebody else might be).
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