Marc Emery, known as "Prince of Pot" for his Vancouver, B.C.-based marijuana-seed business, was arrested yesterday in Canada on a U.S. indictment.
Posted on 07/31/2005 12:35:50 PM PDT by freepatriot32
Marc Emery has built a multimillion-dollar business selling marijuana seeds and paraphernalia while thumbing his nose at authorities in his native Canada, even challenging them to arrest him.
Yesterday, the man known as Canada's "Prince of Pot" was arrested in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on a U.S. indictment charging him with selling millions of dollars worth of marijuana seeds to customers throughout the United States.
Emery, the 47-year-old leader of British Columbia's Marijuana Party, has earned about $3 million a year selling the seeds through his Internet Web site and by mail, federal officials said. Emery and two accomplices, Gregory Williams, 50, and Michelle Rainey-Fenkarek, 34, were arrested by Canadian authorities on a warrant issued by federal officials in Washington state.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Sullivan said Emery will be tried in the U.S. because he committed most of his alleged crimes in this country. The Seattle-based office of the Drug Enforcement Administration led the investigation.
Sullivan said Emery will be extradited from Canada to the U.S. for trial, but the process could take anywhere from six months to two years.
While Emery owns a Vancouver, B.C., store that sells marijuana paraphernalia and seeds, police say at least 75 percent of his illegal transactions involved U.S. customers.
Vancouver Police Department spokesman Howard Chow said U.S. authorities are hoping to prosecute Emery in Seattle under an agreement called the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, which allows the prosecuting agency to determine where to try defendants. Authorities likely thought there was a better chance of conviction and harsher punishment in the U.S., Chow said.
Emery, a self-styled activist who once called himself a "libertarian capitalist," has become a spokesman for British Columbia's movement to legalize marijuana and is publisher of the Canadian magazine Cannabis Culture.
During a 1996 interview with The Seattle Times, Emery discussed an arrest by Canadian authorities for selling seeds at his Vancouver store. He said he wanted to be arrested to "challenge this stupid law and overturn it."
Neil Boyd, professor of criminology at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C., said Emery's arrest may not have occurred if U.S. authorities had not been involved.
"It's not unusual for Canadian police to arrest a person who has committed a serious crime in another country. What's unusual about this case is that they are arresting a person for conduct that attracts very serious penalties in one country and potentially no penalties in Canada," Boyd said.
While selling marijuana seeds in Canada is illegal, Boyd says the laws in Canada are not as tough as in the U.S.
Emery opened his store in 1994 and operates Marc Emery Direct, the Web site through which he sells more than 500 types of marijuana seeds with names such as Wonderberry, White Widow and Island Orange. He claims to own the world's largest selection of marijuana seeds with prices for 10 seeds ranging up to several hundred dollars.
All three defendants were charged with conspiracy to distribute marijuana, conspiracy to distribute marijuana seeds and conspiracy to engage in money laundering. The distribution charges alone carry potential punishments of 10 years to life imprisonment.
John Conroy, Emery's attorney in several previous cases, said Rainey-Fenkarek already had appeared in court and was ordered held on $25,000 bail. He said Emery and Williams may appear in court on Tuesday.
"He's [Emery] been arrested for a number of things over the years," Conroy said, but never before on a U.S. charge. The Canadian arrests include marijuana possession — particularly the seeds — for purposes of trafficking. He has been convicted of some charges, and according to his Web site, he was most recently sentenced to 92 days in jail for trafficking and possession.
Officials say Emery sold marijuana to undercover agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration both by mail and in person.
Emery has been active in pushing for marijuana legalization. He has run for mayor of Vancouver and his marijuana party's slogan is "overgrowing the government."
Because of treaties between the U.S. and Canada, U.S. attorney Sullivan said, if Emery is convicted in the United States he could request to serve his time in Canada, where he might be eligible for release sooner. Sullivan said U.S. authorities will have a chance to weigh in on his release to Canadian custody but that his transfer would still be possible.
"That's one of the frustrations with prisoners who are sent to Canada," Sullivan said.
Ari Bloomekatz: 206-464-2540 or abloomekatz@seattletimes.com
Marc Emery, known as "Prince of Pot" for his Vancouver, B.C.-based marijuana-seed business, was arrested yesterday in Canada on a U.S. indictment.
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Your tax dollars at work. Forget the terrorists.
Officials say Emery sold marijuana to undercover agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration both by mail and in person.
Did they go to buy them in Canada?
Hard to see how they can make a case.
You would think that the Federali's had more important things to do.
Your mis-spent tax dollars at work.
OK...
..and hey, they apologized!
No.
Catch as catch can. This bugger's caught.
Seattle done good. Now, make sure he gets tried in Seattle, and does every last second of his sentence in a U.S. federal prison.
Who hasn't?!
At least he got more votes than Zippy The Circus CHIMP and Frank The MOOSE.
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1996 Local General Election Results
MAYOR
Other results: Councillors Park Board School Board Other Voting Questions
In the list below, the name above the horizontal rule is elected.Philip OWEN (NPA) 50969
Carmela ALLEVATO (COPE) 26143 Jonathan B. BAKER (VOICE) 10703 Paul F. WATSON (GREEN) 3117 Marc EMERY 1125 Sage ADVICE 340 Dhavide Arjunan ARULIAH 311 Gilbert J.W. BAILEY 287 Zippy The Circus CHIMP 264 Jay MANG 168 Ronald F. McDONALD 145 Jennifer E. DUNNAWAY 136 Yummy GIRL 130 Greg WESTERLUND 127 A. Red Hot PEPPER 106 Randy Oliver O'GRADY 103 Barb E. DOLL 101 Sarah WHITTAM 99 Kellee Lynn COLE 94 Jason BENJ 90 Tony MONTANA 78 Michael J. FOSTER 71 Lupo The BUTCHER 69 Mr. X 68 Allison Jane McLENNAN 59 Samantha FOXX 57 Lorna Marie POTTER 57 Eddie FERNANDES 55 Frank The MOOSE 50 John M. McGOLDRICK 49 Golok Zlf BUDAY 42 BUZZ 42 Michel LeBLOND 42 BUGGER 39 Roger Stewart REIMER 38 Ryan S. BIGGE 38 Christina Louise SHARLOW 36 ZAIUS 36 Gaston GINGRAS 32 Jurgen T. SCHAUB 28 Pete FISHBURGER 28 Kenneth P. THOMAS 27 Stuart MAXWELL 26 L. Ron MOONBEAM 25 Tho BUSKERVILLE 24 Pete CHEZANKREME 24 Nicholas PODBREY 24 The Trash TERMINATOR 24 John A. TWEED 22 Tamas R. REVOCZI 19 Dylan RYMER 18 James OCTEAU 15 INGRID 15 Steve WANSLEEBEN 14 Sebastian TEMPLER 12 Figgg FREUD 11 Jeff D. NIX 10 The STAINER 10
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The Moral of this story is, "Never kick a sleeping Tiger in the Nut$."
IMHO, he's an entrepreneur filling a need in the market.
This is stupid. It smacks of the prohibition.
Do you think that something that occured on Friday hadn't been posted on FR by Sunday afternoon? Yes indeed it is a repeat!
I had a false arelia.
The neighborhood kids picked the leaves off the thing until it almost died.
What killed it, my at ate it to death when we brought it in to protect it from the neighborhood kids.
However.. the False Arelia is relevant because the neighborhood cops thought it was the real deal as well.
$3 million a year selling the seeds through his Internet Web site.
That's www............
Bummer
Can't remember it,dude.
Later
The age of consent in America varies from 14-18 and around the world can go even lower. It is a crime for an American to have sex with anyone under 18 in another country regardless of age of consent in that person's home state or in the visiting nation. It is part of the legislation to end sexual tourism.
There are "potentially" no penalties for a number of crimes but it is even odder to see Americans charged when they violate no law at home or abroad.
Pot is not legal in Canada even if they look the other way.
Emery Seeds has been raided by the DEA and is shut down for the time being.
Hummmmmmmmmmmmm ... how would this be different than arresting someone in the USA for flushing a Koran down a toilet and extraditing them to Saudi Arabia?
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