Canada's 'Prince of Pot' taken into custody, to be extradited to U.S.

[Newsjock]

Source: Associated Press

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Canada's so-called Prince of Pot is now in jail awaiting extradition to the United States for selling marijuana seeds.

Marc Emery has sold millions of marijuana seeds around the world by mail over the past decade. In doing so, he has drawn the attention of U.S. drug officials, who want him extradited to Seattle.

Emery has agreed to plead guilty in Seattle to one count of marijuana distribution in exchange for dismissal of all other counts, and the U.S. District Attorney is pressing for a sentence of five to eight years in a U.S. prison.

Emery will plead guilty in a Seattle court at a later date. Emery will be extradited after Canada's justice minister signs a surrender order.

Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_13438181

[noiretextatique]

1. ridiculous

what a waste of resources.

[Taverner]

2. Aw fuck

[sui generis]

3. screw the U.S. district attorney

really.

What an embarrassing case. Aren't there arms dealers and kiddie porn trafficers and software pirates you can go after?

jeeeeezus where is our moral compass to get this crap on the docket but not the others? Defy it, Canada. It's embarrassing that you should be our servile bug eating manbitch in all things legal.

[Blue_In_AK]

4. This is absolutely ridiculous.

Good luck, Mr. Emery. You don't deserve this.

[Blue_Tires]

5. and yet the wall street hustlers, torturers, and other bad guys still walk free

[Ezlivin]

6. Yes! We're finally stopping the financing of terrorism!

Every ounce of pot sold puts money directly into the hands of people who are plotting the next 9/11.

That pipe you bought? The money went straight to al Queda.

Those Zig Zag rolling papers you thought were harmless? Osama bin Laden got the cash.

Even if you grow it in your own home you are supporting terrorism, particularly if you are growing the breed mazar which is Afghani.

Face it: marijuana has no legitimate use and should never be legalized.

[ShortnFiery]

20. ...

Bummer. :hippie: ;)

[guitar man]

7. gawd damn

Don't we have torturers and war criminals to prosecute first? :grr:

[damntexdem]

8. What crap.

The DA needs some real work to do.

[notesdev]

9. Waste of money

Someone ought to tally up just what catching this person, trying him, and jailing him is going to cost. If it's not a million dollars plus, I'll eat my hat (and is probably on the order of 10 times that).

This country is FLAT BROKE and we are STILL wasting huge amounts of money chasing people who grow plants?

This country needs to grow... grow up!

[dbonds]

10. Do we the people of the US support this? We should let our voice be heard.

[winyanstaz]

11. This is bull ...six to eight years for selling seeds...sheesh...

Don't they know God made those seeds? Shame on them...may they burn in hellfire forever for making God's handywork "illegal".
With all the rapists and murderers and pedophiles and thieves and major polluters running around...we the taxpayers should pay for crap like this>?>>>????

[depakid]

12. There the US goes again with its draconian punishment obsession...

More grist for the burgeoning prison industrial complex.

[ooglymoogly]

13. The balance of justice is so corrupt the stench is palpable

throughout the country and abroad. We are a laughing stock.

[Jackpine Radical]

14. Goddam, I'll be able to sleep well tonight, knowing

that this drug-crazed maniac is off the streets.

[CBGLuthier]

15. Glad things are different in Obama's America

Yeah. I said it. Fucking change my fucking ass. More of the same shit.

[Hestia]

16. I cannot believe Canada is handing over one of their citizens like this - how can they do this?

[Thickasabrick]

18. I thought he was a US citizen that had fleeed. nt

[Thickasabrick]

17. Stupid.......and sad.....but mostly stupid nt

[pattmarty]

19. If he's a Canadian citizen, if I were in charge, I'd tell the US attorney............

...............to "get fucked". This is bullshit where the bullies (us) think we can do whatever we want around the world. This guy surely ain't a terrorist for fucks sake. CANADA: Go tell "Uncle Sam" to go fuck himself!!!

[Zorra]

21. How stupid. A frivolous waste of taxpayer time and money.

And the criminals that lied us into a senseless bloody expensive war are having libraries named after them and are walking around free making hundreds of thousands of dollars on speaking engagements.

[tonekat]

22. Well, that stinks!

It would be great if Canada said "No, we don't think so. You see, we have priorities here that take precedence over drug hysteria, like health care for all our citizens, stuff like that."

[TerribleLarryDingle]

23. Mark Emery is a con man

He's been ripping people off for years, not to mention he's been very open about breaking the law.
I agree he shouldn't go to jail but really if you openly break the law and generate huge profits from it you should expect to eventually get locked up.
No one forced him to break the law now they are making an example out of him.

[Tempest]

25. That doesn't make any sense

He's been selling seeds for years and has a large, and loyal clientele.

[TerribleLarryDingle]

27. Search around a bit.

You see what I'm talking about.

[TeaBagsAreForCups]

28. I did "search around"....

... and found nothing material or with real merit that reflects poorly or negatively upon this man.

[nashville_brook]

29. linkees?

[Tempest]

30. I know growers who bought seeds from him

He's completely above board and you won't find any customers with a complaint.

[boppers]

35. I did some searching.

My conclusions: The guy's in it for the attention, and making himself famous by being notorious.

Yes, he distributed materials found to be obscene.

Yes, he's an annoying libertarian.

Yes, he's a chronic (*cough*) law-breaker.

Yes, he's a uber-right tea-bagger type, and annoying as hell.

None of that's really damning though, other than the long list of "being annoying" that he's racked up over the years. He's no friend of the left, he's only a friend to himself and his circle, but that's not exactly worth spending $150K to keep him locked away.

[Raster]

31. You need to back up your bullshit with something other than just your bullshit.

[Vidar]

24. Shame on the US & Canada.

[excess_3]

33. don't blame me, blame Obama .nt

[notadmblnd]

26. I wonder which murderer, rapist or thief they'll let go to make room

for this obviously dangerous criminal:sarcasm:

[CHIMO]

32. FTR: EMERY INTERVIEW

Over the years, Marc Emery has frustrated American authorities to the point where you could nearly see the smoke coming out of their ears. The cause of said smoke has, in part, been Mr. Emery's chronic advocacy for the legalization of marijuana. As the head of British Columbia's Marijuana Party, he has been touting the virtues of the drug for much of the past decade.

But it was Mr. Emery's business activities -- shipping pot seeds from Canada to customers within the United States -- that really got U.S. federal prosecutors huffing and puffing. In fact, they've been been pushing for Canada to extradite him since 2005. And it looks like they've won.

Today, Mr. Emery announced he had reached a deal with American prosecutors, and will serve a five-year sentence south of the border. And there's no doubt about it, going from the "Prince of Pot" to life in the big house will be a big life change.

For the record, here is part of a conversation between Marc Emery and Larry Levine, a Los Angeles-based consultant who specializes in preparing people for life in the federal prison system in the U.S. It was recorded earlier today on the Early Edition, CBC Vancouver's morning radio show.


MARC EMERY SURRENDERS - RAINEY
Mr. Emery wasn't the only one the U.S. government wanted extradited for selling marijuana seeds. Michelle Rainey and Greg Williams -- two of Marc Emery's colleagues -- were both originally wanted on the same charges. However, they've both gotten off with much, much lighter sentences than their Mr. Emery -- and some reports have suggested their reduced sentences are the result of his voluntary surrender.

We reached Michelle Rainey in Vancouver.

http://www.cbc.ca/asithappens/latestshow.html
http://www.cbc.ca/mrl3/8752/asithappens/20090928-aih-2.wmv

[Rex]

34. And again the 'war on drugs' fails miserably.

:eyes: