Shame on Canada, pot protestors say
Prince of Pot sells seeds over Internet
Trio of Canadians violate U.S. law by selling seeds
Surprise arrests authorized by B.C. Supreme Court
ISABEL TEOTONIO
STAFF REPORTER
Canada should be ashamed for arresting a prominent Canadian marijuana rights activist on charges of violating American drug laws, marijuana advocates said here yesterday after demonstrating against the arrest.
B.C. Marijuana Party leader Marc Emery, who sells marijuana seeds over the Internet, was arrested by RCMP in Nova Scotia Friday on a warrant issued by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Although selling marijuana seeds is legal in Canada, it's a violation of U.S. law. "Ottawa should be ashamed... for selling off Canadians to keep good relations with Uncle Sam," Jassica Aulthouse said yesterday outside the U.S. Consulate General on University Ave., where 30 people gathered to protest the arrest of Emery and two of his colleagues. "I want the Canadian government to make decisions based on what people here want and not what foreign heads want," said Aulthouse, who travelled to Toronto from Niagara Region.
The surprise arrests were authorized by the B.C. Supreme Court under the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act. The three now face extradition and, if convicted, punitive sentences ranging from 10 years to life in prison.
Emery, 47, Michelle Rainey-Fenkarek, 34, financial agent for the party and Greg Williams, 50, an employee of Pot-TV, all face U.S. charges of conspiracy to manufacture marijuana, distribute seeds and engage in money laundering.
The arrests came after the trio was indicted by a U.S. federal grand jury in May following an 18-month investigation by American police into the sale of marijuana seeds on the Internet and by mail.
At a similar pro-Emery rally in Vancouver Saturday, some 200, including visiting Americans, protested the arrests. Canadian officials have a long history of trying to dethrone Emery, who's been dubbed the Canadian Prince of Pot because he's among the world's biggest dealers in marijuana seeds. While he's been convicted of various drug-related charges since 1994, when he opened a store in Vancouver that now sells marijuana paraphernalia, he's only ever been sentenced once. Last year, he was slapped with three months in jail for passing a joint at a pot rally in Saskatoon.
Emery has long insisted on selling seeds because they don't contain enough THC, the mood-altering ingredient in marijuana, to qualify as a banned substance. But since he stopped selling them over the counter and started selling them in cyberspace, Canadian authorities have for the most part left him alone.
Currently, his seed-selling business is booming, Rod Benson, the special agent in charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, told reporters in Seattle on Friday. It sells about $3 million worth of seeds each year, mostly to the U.S. Unlike here, authorities south of the border believe that selling marijuana seeds is the same as selling marijuana.
Rainey-Fenkarek and Williams were arrested in Vancouver. As city police were raiding his pot paraphernalia store, Emery was arrested in Lawrencetown, N.S., where he'd been scheduled to speak at a music festival that raises money for the group Maritimers Unite for Medical Marijuana.
Rainey-Fenkarek was released on $25,000 bail Friday, but both Williams and Emery spent the weekend in custody. Both men are to appear in a Vancouver court today for a bail hearing.
Calls to Justice Minister Irwing Cotler's office yesterday were not returned. However, many have called the arrests a flagrant display of American bullying.
"The ability (for Americans) to come into our country and ask for our help to take (Emery) away so they can punish him for their kinds of laws is immoral," said Connie Fogal, leader of the Canadian Action Party, which promotes Canadian nationalism. "It's not just their approach to marijuana. I see this as part and parcel of a very great push by the U.S., not to just exercise its clout, but to invade us with their will. They don't have to use guns, tanks and missiles, because they've got political wimps here who bow down to them," said Fogal, who's also a lawyer in Vancouver.
Her comments were loudly echoed yesterday by protestors outside the U.S. consulate on University Ave. "Today's a big day, not just for the marijuana movement but for all Canadians," said Alison Myrden, sitting in a wheelchair and holding a sign that read, "Marc Emery Saved my Life," as she took drags from a marijuana joint. "Marc is a legitimate businessman, he's always been above board," said Myrden.
She added that Emery has often sent her money so she could afford to buy marijuana to ease the pain brought on by by 28 years of living with multiple sclerosis.
Protest organizer Matt Mernagh, a medicinal user of marijuana, called Emery's arrest a "gross insult to Canadian sovereignty." But "it's an excellent opportunity to get rid of someone who's a pain in their ass - they can't get him in Canada so they'll send him to the U.S.," Mernagh said. "The government has washed their hands of this."
WITH FILES FROM CANADIAN PRESS ( TORONTO STAR, Tuesday, August 2, 2005).
Prince of Pot sells seeds over Internet
Trio of Canadians violate U.S. law by selling seeds
Surprise arrests authorized by B.C. Supreme Court
ISABEL TEOTONIO
STAFF REPORTER
Canada should be ashamed for arresting a prominent Canadian marijuana rights activist on charges of violating American drug laws, marijuana advocates said here yesterday after demonstrating against the arrest.
B.C. Marijuana Party leader Marc Emery, who sells marijuana seeds over the Internet, was arrested by RCMP in Nova Scotia Friday on a warrant issued by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Although selling marijuana seeds is legal in Canada, it's a violation of U.S. law. "Ottawa should be ashamed... for selling off Canadians to keep good relations with Uncle Sam," Jassica Aulthouse said yesterday outside the U.S. Consulate General on University Ave., where 30 people gathered to protest the arrest of Emery and two of his colleagues. "I want the Canadian government to make decisions based on what people here want and not what foreign heads want," said Aulthouse, who travelled to Toronto from Niagara Region.
The surprise arrests were authorized by the B.C. Supreme Court under the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act. The three now face extradition and, if convicted, punitive sentences ranging from 10 years to life in prison.
Emery, 47, Michelle Rainey-Fenkarek, 34, financial agent for the party and Greg Williams, 50, an employee of Pot-TV, all face U.S. charges of conspiracy to manufacture marijuana, distribute seeds and engage in money laundering.
The arrests came after the trio was indicted by a U.S. federal grand jury in May following an 18-month investigation by American police into the sale of marijuana seeds on the Internet and by mail.
At a similar pro-Emery rally in Vancouver Saturday, some 200, including visiting Americans, protested the arrests. Canadian officials have a long history of trying to dethrone Emery, who's been dubbed the Canadian Prince of Pot because he's among the world's biggest dealers in marijuana seeds. While he's been convicted of various drug-related charges since 1994, when he opened a store in Vancouver that now sells marijuana paraphernalia, he's only ever been sentenced once. Last year, he was slapped with three months in jail for passing a joint at a pot rally in Saskatoon.
Emery has long insisted on selling seeds because they don't contain enough THC, the mood-altering ingredient in marijuana, to qualify as a banned substance. But since he stopped selling them over the counter and started selling them in cyberspace, Canadian authorities have for the most part left him alone.
Currently, his seed-selling business is booming, Rod Benson, the special agent in charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, told reporters in Seattle on Friday. It sells about $3 million worth of seeds each year, mostly to the U.S. Unlike here, authorities south of the border believe that selling marijuana seeds is the same as selling marijuana.
Rainey-Fenkarek and Williams were arrested in Vancouver. As city police were raiding his pot paraphernalia store, Emery was arrested in Lawrencetown, N.S., where he'd been scheduled to speak at a music festival that raises money for the group Maritimers Unite for Medical Marijuana.
Rainey-Fenkarek was released on $25,000 bail Friday, but both Williams and Emery spent the weekend in custody. Both men are to appear in a Vancouver court today for a bail hearing.
Calls to Justice Minister Irwing Cotler's office yesterday were not returned. However, many have called the arrests a flagrant display of American bullying.
"The ability (for Americans) to come into our country and ask for our help to take (Emery) away so they can punish him for their kinds of laws is immoral," said Connie Fogal, leader of the Canadian Action Party, which promotes Canadian nationalism. "It's not just their approach to marijuana. I see this as part and parcel of a very great push by the U.S., not to just exercise its clout, but to invade us with their will. They don't have to use guns, tanks and missiles, because they've got political wimps here who bow down to them," said Fogal, who's also a lawyer in Vancouver.
Her comments were loudly echoed yesterday by protestors outside the U.S. consulate on University Ave. "Today's a big day, not just for the marijuana movement but for all Canadians," said Alison Myrden, sitting in a wheelchair and holding a sign that read, "Marc Emery Saved my Life," as she took drags from a marijuana joint. "Marc is a legitimate businessman, he's always been above board," said Myrden.
She added that Emery has often sent her money so she could afford to buy marijuana to ease the pain brought on by by 28 years of living with multiple sclerosis.
Protest organizer Matt Mernagh, a medicinal user of marijuana, called Emery's arrest a "gross insult to Canadian sovereignty." But "it's an excellent opportunity to get rid of someone who's a pain in their ass - they can't get him in Canada so they'll send him to the U.S.," Mernagh said. "The government has washed their hands of this."
WITH FILES FROM CANADIAN PRESS ( TORONTO STAR, Tuesday, August 2, 2005).
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