Police want pot crusader barred from stations

edmontoncanada.com ^ | 8.12.03 | Derrick Penner

[freepatriot32]

Shaughn Butts, The Journal / Followers look on as Marc Emery smokes up Sunday.

EDMONTON - Wearing a conservative blue suit, B.C. marijuana activist Marc Emery lit up a water pipe in front of Edmonton police headquarters Sunday afternoon and was promptly arrested.

The leader of the B.C. Marijuana Party contends poss ession laws no longer exist because of recent Ontario court decisions.

Before lighting up, Emery said the fact that people can be political and take action makes Canada "the greatest place on Earth."

Two Edmonton police constables stepped into the crowd and led Emery inside, to a chorus

of boos and jeers from about three dozen supporters who decried the arrest as unconstitutional.

Federal Crown prosecutors have told Edmonton police that laws prohibiting marijuana possession are still in effect, said Insp. Dick Shantz. Officers charged Emery with a single count of pot possession.

Police also tried to stop Emery's campaign by asking that a Canadawide ban preventing him from going to police stations unless he has a legitimate complaint be made one condition of his release.

"We're getting tired of dealing with him," Shantz said. "He's tying up our manpower with his illegal crusade and we're not going to put up with it."

Others were also smoking marijuana but Shantz said no one else was arrested because police did not have the manpower.

Emery, publisher of the magazine Cannabis Culture, was arrested in Calgary on Saturday.

He was earlier arrested in Winnipeg, Regina, Moncton, N.B., and St. John's, Nfld. He was not arrested at stops this summer in Toronto and Charolettetown, P.E.I.

dpenner@thejournal.canwest.com

[presidio9]

Entirely different. We are trying to prevent any addictions. You are trying to defend drug use. The two are not morally equivalent.

[Quick1]

You're backtracking into a moral debate now?

You gave anecdotal evidence about people you know that started with pot. I countered. Simple as that.

[Wolfie]

Knowing there is no effective pot laws up north.

And there's the real reason the cops are ticked at Mr. Emery. The courts have ruled that the possession law is null and void, and he is publicizing that fact.

[Kevin Curry]

Marijuana Linked to Schizophrenia, Depression

But mostly it's linked to stupidity.

[Kevin Curry]

And there's the real reason the cops are ticked at Mr. Emery. The courts have ruled that the possession law is null and void, and he is publicizing that fact.

Next he'll take up buggering his boyfriend on the sidewalk in front of police stations while he tokes a fat spliff.

Dopers have a lot of class. They just reek of it.

[Jeff Gordon]

But mostly it's linked to stupidity.

You are right. It is linked to a major stupidity called the "War on Drugs" or WOD for short. Far more innocent people have been hurt by WOD LEO funbles than have been hurt by Pot.

[Wolfie]

There is no law against possession. Mr. Emery is taking it to the cops, and boy are they squealing (no pun intended). Sorry, Kev, but some people insist on exercising their rights. I'm sure you think the world would be a better place if Rosa Parks had just sat in back of the damn bus like everybody else.

[Gianni]

...And crime rose incredibly.

Only in some urban areas...

Hmmmmm....... No.

The shooting wars took place in urban areas, but the 'organized' part of the crime was extremely widespread. Bootleg booze was made in rural areas - many of them here in Iowa - and then shipped into Chicago for distribution.

Now think about this: Wintertime in Iowa. How hard is it to figure out which farms had heavy trucks come make pickups in the night with a few inches of fresh-fallen snow on the ground? Everyone knew who was involved, and from the sherrif down to the lowest peon in law enforcement everyone got their cut.

[PaxMacian]

GOD MADE HERB
GOD SAW THAT HERB WAS GOOD
GOD GAVE HERB TO MAN

Genesis 1:11
Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so.

Genesis 1:12
And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:29
And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.

[AxelPaulsenJr]

Hey dude, did you hear that Ozzie Osborn says that pot smoking led his son Jack to try harder drugs?

Yes I did hear that Ozzie Osborne says that pot smoking led his son Jack to try harder drugs.

[cinFLA]

All that does is prove you're a hypocrite for not wanting to criminalize alcohol and cigarettes.

Of course you are also for the legalization of crack? Or are YOU the hypocrite?

[dennisw]

So stop arresting him..............


You would say the same if he was a dope dealer. A heroin pusher. Brewing methedrine in his garage. You want all these posions made legal and legal pot is your way of getting your foot in the door.

[FreePaul]

...legalizing drugs will reduce the Federal Budget by billions...

You have the key right there. That simple statement creates fear and panic among a large number of our government employees. Having a solution to the so called drug problem would cause many people to find another line of work. Government officials wouldn't have justification for ignoring the bill of rights. Anything that would really solve the "drug problem" would cause havoc in our country.

[PaxMacian]

If any thing is responsible for Jack Osborne trying hard drugs it is first and foremost the sins of the father. But, fame is to blame in part. Even the show producers should take some blame, since they had to be around facilitating through the blind eye peering luridly from behind a camera as he cohorts with the notoriously heroine chic promoters of the hard core. It is all about ratings and sound bites.

[presidio9]

Genesis 1:29 And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.

Poison Ivy is an "herb." Is the Bible telling us that we should eat it?

[Quick1]

I'm for decriminalization of all drugs. However, I believe the first step in that direction will be decriminalization of marijuana.

[cinFLA]

I'm for decriminalization of all drugs. However, I believe the first step in that direction will be decriminalization of marijuana.

The first step is the medical marijuana decriminalization scam.

[cinFLA]

I'm for decriminalization of all drugs. However, I believe the first step in that direction will be decriminalization of marijuana. Eat not the flesh of the animals over which I have given you dominion.

[Quick1]

Scam? I bet you think all it is for is a bunch of dirty hippies who want to smoke up. The fact is, there are people out there who have pain that can be relieved by marijuana. To deny them treatment is simply not ethical, IMHO.

[cinFLA]

To deny them treatment is simply not ethical, IMHO.

It is unethical to pretend to care for the sick and dying when your only purpose is to get all drugs legalized.