Marijuana Activist Marc Emery Should Be Home Soon
August 10, 2014
I recently wrote an article asking why Canadian marijuana activist Marc Emery was still in prison in America. Marc Emery was extradited to the United States in 2010 for selling marijuana seeds via his magazine ‘Cannabis Culture.’ The main reason that he was convicted by the United States in the first place was not because he was selling seeds alone. It was because Marc Emery was selling seeds and using his profits to fund marijuana legalization efforts in the United States and Canada.
The United States government felt that if they could shut down Marc Emery’s efforts, that the legalization movement would be dealt a blow that it wouldn’t recover from. However, that wasn’t the case, as Marc Emery’s efforts helped build momentum that proved impossible to stop, as Washington and Colorado legalized marijuana in 2012, and numerous other reforms have happened across the country too.
Despite it being unfair, Marc Emery turned himself in in 2010, went to the United States, and served an almost five year prison sentence. His prison sentence was up over a month ago, however, Marc Emery still sat in an American jail awaiting his transfer back to Canada. Day after day, week after week, Marc’s wife Jodie was kept in the dark as to when her husband would be coming home. I’m happy to say, it appears that the wait is over. Per Jodie’s tweet below:
When I saw that tweet go out, my heart skipped a beat. I have admired Marc and Jodie Emery for a long time, and I’m ecstatic to know that they will finally be reunited back in Canada soon. I’m very curious to see what Marc does when he is free, how it affects the movement in North America and beyond, and what Marc thinks of the current state of the marijuana movement and industry. A lot has happened since 2010. Congratulations to the Emerys, and I look forward to following their endeavors in the near future!
http://www.theweedblog.com/marijuana-activist-marc-emery-should-be-home-soon/
As Marc Emery returns to Canada, U.S. scientists still face obstacles researching medicinal marijuana
AUG 10, 2014
Jodie and Marc Emery will soon be seen together again in Vancouver.
After serving a five-year prison sentence for selling marijuana seeds to U.S. customers, Vancouver's Marc Emery is expected to cross the border back into Canada on Tuesday (August 12).
His wife Jodie will be flying to Windsor on Monday (August 11) and will be waiting for him on the following day in the plaza outside Windsor City Hall.
"I'm definitely excited, a little stunned almost," Jodie told the
Georgia Straight by phone. "It's kind of surreal."
She and her husband expect that he'll be escorted by U.S. marshals to the border between Detroit and Windsor. This will occur after he's flown, possibly in chains, to the Motor City from Louisiana, where he's still in custody.
Jodie said that she's basing the details of the upcoming release on what a former cellmate of Emery said. He's a Canadian who was held in the U.S. on a drug charge, and he came escorted back in chains before being instructed to walk across the border.
"That's why we picked Windsor City Hall," she said. "It's a half a block away."
She had hoped to bring Marc some clothing to wear before realizing that all of his garments are at least eight or nine years old.
Jodie also mentioned that she had to throw out his sweaters a few months ago because they'd been devoured by moths.
"Everything of his was stained, torn, ripped up, or barely held together before he left because we didn't get him anything new for years before that," she said. "I'm just figuring out what I need to bring for him. He has absolutely nothing."
The Emerys will return to Vancouver, likely around 9:30 or 10 a.m., on Sunday (August 17). From around noon onward that day, there will be a party in Victory Square across the street from the headquarters of their marijuana-related businesses.
"We'll also let Marc speak to the public when he does arrive," Jodie said. "He just wants to meet people all day long. He'll be making himself very available."
One of the first orders of business upon his return will be to see a dentist and a doctor. According to his wife, he suffered a large red bruise on his leg for which there's no explanation. Once he's in Vancouver, the couple plans to head to Granville Island to stock up on healthy fruits and vegetables.
"It's been very expensive keeping him safe and sound with healthy food," Jodie revealed.
In a June
phone interview from a Mississippi prison, Emery told the
Straight's Travis Lupick that he plans to resume his activism upon his return.
Emery has become a strong supporter of the federal Liberals after Justin Trudeau called for the legalization of marijuana.
"Getting rid of Stephen Harper and making sure Justin Trudeau is elected along with the Liberal party is a pretty major job,” Emery said at the time. "Really, the only job that I’m going to have in the next year.”
Jodie said that she has just received her papers to put her name forward for the Liberal nomination in Vancouver East. The riding has been represented by the NDP's Libby Davies since 1997.
"That's why I need to go to the Vancouver police station today for a criminal-record check," Jodie said. "It's pretty standard for political-office applications."
While Emery was in jail, voters in Colorado and Washington states passed initiatives legalizing possession of marijuana. A similar vote will take place this year in the District of Columbia.
In addition, 23 states and the District of Columbia allow the sale of medicinal marijuana.
Despite these measures, people who research the medicinal use of pot have run into roadblocks in the United States, according to an
article in today's
New York Times.
One academic quoted in the piece, Dr. Sue Sisley, alleges she was fired from the University of Arizona because of "her outspoken support for marijuana research".
She sought funding to examine its effect on war veterans suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder.
http://www.straight.com/news/704261/marc-emery-returns-canada-us-scientists-still-face-obstacles-researching-medicinal-marijuana
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