HERE IS WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP!
Write a letter asking the Washington State judge to let Marc Emery return to Canada without any imprisonment. Send your polite, passionate letters to:
Honorable Ricardo S. Martinez
U.S. Courthouse
700 Stewart Street
Seattle, WA
98101
Here are some facts to help you write your letter:
• Marc Emery is a Canadian citizen who never went to the USA as a seed seller.
• Marc Emery operated his seed business in Canada at all times, with no American branches or employees.
• Marc Emery declared his income from marijuana seed sales on his income tax, and paid over $580,000 to the Federal and Provincial governments from 1999 to 2005.
• Marc Emery is the leader of the British Columbia Marijuana Party, a registered political party that has regularly participated in elections.
• Marc Emery has never been arrested or convicted of manufacturing or distributing marijuana in Canada, as he only sold seeds.
• Marc Emery gave away all of the profits from his seed business to drug law reform lobbyists, political parties, global protests and rallies, court litigation, medical marijuana initiatives, drug rehabilitation clinics, and other legitimate legal activities and organizations.
• Marc Emery helped found the United States Marijuana Party, state-level political parties, and international political parties in countries such as Israel and New Zealand.
• Marc Emery has been known as a book seller and activist in Canada for 30 years, fighting against censorship laws and other social issues long before he became a drug law reform activist.
• Marc Emery has been a media figure for 20 years with regards to marijuana and drug law reform. He is very well-known to Canadian, American and international news media organizations.
• Marc Emery operated his business in full transparency and honesty since its inception in 1994, even sending his marijuana seed catalogue inside his magazine "Cannabis Culture" to each Member of Parliament in Canada every two months for years.
• The US Drug Enforcement Administration admitted in a press release from Administrator Karen Tandy that his July 29th, 2005 arrest was based on drug legalization efforts -- a copy of the document can be viewed at http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/4685.html --
"Today's DEA arrest of Marc Scott Emery, publisher of Cannabis Culture Magazine, and the founder of a marijuana legalization group -- is a signficant blow not only to the marijuana trafficking trade in the U.S. and Canada, but also to the marijuana legalization movement. His marijuana trade and propagandist marijuana magazine have generated nearly $5 million a year in profits that bolstered his trafficking efforts, but those have gone up in smoke today. Emery and his organization had been designated as one of the Attorney General's most wanted international drug trafficking organizational targets -- one of only 46 in the world and the only one from Canada. Hundreds of thousands of dollars of Emery's illicit profits are known to have been channeled to marijuana legalization groups active in the United States and Canda. Drug legalization lobbyists now have one less pot of money to rely on."
PLEASE SEND A LETTER IN THE MAIL!
If enough pieces of mail arrive at the courthouse, the judge will realize that many people are going to be upset if Marc Emery is sentenced to prison time, and he may be persuaded to give a lighter sentence -- perhaps even the same as Marc's two coaccused Greg Williams and Michelle Rainey, who are starting two years of probation in Canada as their punishment for the victimless crime of selling marijuana seeds in Canada!
For more information that can help you create your letter to the judge, read and use the following:
Who is Marc Emery?
Marc Emery is a Canadian businessman and political activist who owns and operates "Cannabis Culture Magazine", "Pot-TV", the "BC Marijuana Party", and "Marc Emery's Cannabis Culture Headquarters" (previously "BC Marijuana Party Bookstore" and "Hemp BC" before that). Marc also ran "Emery Direct Seeds" in a store in downtown Vancouver BC, and through mail-order, for over ten years, with the goal to fund anti-prohibition and pro-marijuana activists and organizations across North America and the world. (Numerous other seed-selling businesses operate in North America, some even on the same block as Marc Emery's businesses today.)
Marc paid provincial and federal taxes on his income, had no business outlets in the USA, and never went to the USA to conduct seed transactions. Everything was done openly and transparently, because Marc has always been honest and vocal. He's a media magnet and always explained how and why he did everything. He spent the proceeds from all sales on ending the drug war: he financed numerous ballot initiatives, election campaigns, court challenges, medical user legal fees, conferences, events and more in Canada, the USA, and all over the world. That's what his mission was, and he even ran in provincial and municipal elections five times as a seed seller, gaining many votes and endless media coverage.
Marc Emery had two employees that worked for his seed business: Michelle Rainey, and Greg Williams. Together they were called "The BC3" in earlier "No Extradition" efforts. They, along with Marc, are Canadian citizens who were heavily involved in Canadian and American anti-prohibition activism for over ten years, though they remained in Canada at all times.
The US Justice Department wanted to have the BC3 extradited to the USA to be charged with conspiracy to produce marijuana, conspiracy to traffic marijuana, and conspiracy to launder the proceeds of crime. ("Marc Emery Direct Seeds" was a marijuana seed business; the accused never sold any marijuana. The DEA even went undercover and tried to buy ten pounds of pot from Marc Emery, but he gave them a lecture about how he sold seeds, not pot, and told the female undercover agent she was ignorant to ask him to sell marijuana, because he's never done it before and assumes he's always monitored by law enforcement.) Marc Emery still faces extradition the USA.
Because Marc Emery was so successful in fighting against the US-led War on Drugs, the powers in America decided to shut him up. The United States Justice Department and DEA had Canadian police help execute a raid and arrests for extradition of three political activists -- Marc Emery, Michelle Rainey, and Greg Williams -- to face 10 years up to life in US prison.
Did You Know?
- In Canada, there are two precedents for selling marijuana seeds:
1) In the year case R. v. Hunter in the year 2000, the BC Court of Appeals found that a $200 fine, not jail time, is the appropriate punishment for selling seeds. Read that decision here.
2) On March 7th, 2008, the BC Appeals Court released a decision that the punishment for selling cannabis seeds should not be more severe than one month in prison and one year of probation, the punishment handed to a marijuana seed retailer in BC who was selling to Americans. Read that story here.
- Marc Emery, Michelle Rainey and Greg Williams never went to the United States. The seed business, "Marc Emery Direct Marijuana Seeds", was Canadian-based and run by Marc Emery. There were no US-based employees, and only regular mail was ever sent across the border from Vancouver, BC to Americans who made orders online or through the mail.
- According to a 2005 survey done by the Strategic Counsel & Angus Reid Polling, 58% of Canadians oppose extradition in this case. In the years since, public opposition to extradition has only grown, with national newspaper editorials, local news columnists, and even Members of Canada's Parliament all urging the Justice Minister to refuse extradition in this case.
- Marc Emery paid Income Tax to Revenue Canada and Revenue BC on all of his income generated from his seed business. He paid more than $500,000 in taxes between 1999 to 2005, and put his occupation on the income tax declarations as "marijuana seed vendor".
- Marc Emery's magazine "Cannabis Culture" was sent to every Member of Parliament for over 12 years. Every issue of Cannabis Culture up to #57 (the issue printed on the very same day as the raid, July 29th, 2005) included the entire seed catalogue in it, so Parliament knew about the business.
- Health Canada, when it first began licensing medical marijuana users, recommended to Members of Parliament and licensed users that new cannabis growers should purchase seeds online from Canadian seed sellers such as Marc Emery Direct. Svend Robinson, the New Democratic Party Health Critic in Canadian Parliament, will testify to that fact.
- Marc Emery brought a capitalist approach to the marijuana legalization movement by starting "radical retail" outlets such as Hemp BC, and got politically involved by helping organize the Canadian Marijuana Party and creating the BC Marijuana Party, the latter which he still leads today.
- Marc Emery created his seed business with the purpose of using the profits to fund the cannabis movement worldwide. Through the sale of cannabis seeds, Marc was able to finance numerous drug law reform groups and events around the world, mostly in Canada and the United States. He funded global rally/march promotion, American and Canadian ballot initiatives, election campaigns, lobbying groups, conferences, drug rehab clinics, class action lawsuits, protests, patient bills and bail fees, and more. In total, over $4,000,000 was contributed to various activities and organizations.
If you know me, you know that I am somewhat of a misanthrope. People do things that irritate me, and I have found it is better to seclude myself than run the risk of getting punched in the nose for conveying my irritation in the only way I know how: Sarcasm.
You have to love technology, though...because now I can crab off on all sorts of things from the security of my computer room. With pictures!
Welcome to the first, and probably not last, edition of
THINGS THAT IRRITATE ME ABOUT PEOPLE
For my first installment I would like to discuss dogs.
I am not a dog person, I like cats. Just because I really like cats and I am so-so on dogs, doesn't mean I approve of mistreating them or treating them like an accessory.
A few weeks ago we had a Greek Fest in the neighbourhood. This year the Greek Fest was really packed, probably the most crowded I have seen in the last 4 years. Lots of people had dogs with them and if I hadn't of been expecting to use my hands to hold a Gyro I would have petted as many as I could. You know, the Greek Fest is all about the food no matter how many booths on Hellenic Culture and History they have set up.
I don't mind it when people bring well behaved animals to events of this nature as long as the dogs aren't in the way or in danger of getting crushed under the feet of dancing Greeks. I would rather see people bring pets with them than a kid in stroller the size of a Hummer...but that's another rant entirely.
Sometimes at these events people dress up the dog to fit the event, which is always good for a laugh especially if it is a Pride Parade.
On the way home we came across this:
This poor pup was tied so close to this tree he could barely move. I have no idea where his owner was or how long the dog was supposed to stand there like this, and honestly I don't care. I don't care if the owner was sitting at the bar on the other side of the side walk or at the curb just off camera and to the right. I think this picture does all the talking and I don't need to go on and on about it.
This kind of thing just irritates me about people.
