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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Canada: Ottawa nixed extradition deal, says Pot Prince Emery Ian Mulgrew, Canwest News Service National Post Thursday 27 Mar 2008 Date: March 27 2008 Author: Ian Mulgrew, Canwest News Service --- VANCOUVER -- A tentative deal between Marc Emery and the U.S. government over money laundering and drug charges has been nixed by Ottawa, the marijuana crusader said Thursday. Mr. Emery says the federal Conservatives have refused to go along with a proposal that would have seen him spend five years behind bars for selling marijuana seeds through the mail. Under the defunct pact, Mr. Emery was to plead guilty on both sides of the border and accept a sentence of 10 years imprisonment on the understanding he would serve half, mostly in Canada. "All that was required for this deal was a rubber stamp from the federal government," Mr. Emery said. "They have, instead, rejected the deal without explanation . . . it is clearly political." There was no immediate confirmation of Mr. Emery's claim from the federal government. The longtime cannabis crusader said he originally agreed to the jail time in part to spare his associates and co-accused Michelle Rainey and Gregg Williams from prosecution and prison. "I was willing, the Americans were willing and all that we needed was the Conservative government to also agree," the 50-year-old said. "I certainly didn't think that would be a problem. After all, I was agreeing to serve five years for a crime that would result in little over a month in jail for any one of the many seed-sellers operating then, and now, in Vancouver and across Canada." The trio was charged in Aug. 2005 after a raid by local police and American law-enforcement agents on MR. Emery's downtown Vancouver headquarters. They were accused of violating U.S. laws even though none had ventured south of the border. Mr. Emery was the primary target, in particular, he says, because of his decade-long campaign to end the criminal prohibition against cannabis in North America. "The Americans targeted me for my political views and activism," he said. "And now my own government won't go along with an American-endorsed deal because they want me gone." U.S. prosecutors have offered Mr. Williams and Ms. Rainey jail sentences in the three-to-five-month range and probation in exchange for guilty pleas. Ms. Rainey, who suffers from Crohn's disease, was Emery's longtime right-hand but has since become one of the country's leading medical marijuana advocates. "It's in the hands of my lawyer," she said about the deal. "But it may be the best option under the circumstances." Williams, too, sees the deal as attractive compared to the prospect of a potential 10- to 20-plus-year sentence in an American penitentiary. "It is hard for me to believe that marijuana is even illegal, much less that I'm facing the possibility of life in prison," he told me. "I'm stunned that our government can't deal with cannabis in our society in an adult way." The political landscape has changed dramatically since MR. Emery began politicking for cannabis over a decade ago. From 1998 until his arrest, MR. Emery even paid provincial and federal taxes as a "marijuana seed vendor" totalled nearly $600,000. "Over the last 10 years, I operated openly and transparently," MR. Emery insisted. "Six times a year, I sent every Member of Parliament a copy of my seed catalogue. I donated tens of thousands to politicians of every party, at every level of government. They all gladly cashed my cheques knowing full well the source of the money. Under the definition of the law, they are all guilty of money laundering, the very crime I'm being extradited for." Kirk Tousaw, one of the lawyers involved in the defence team, said the government's stance seemed to run counter to the country's "traditional commitment to freedom, justice and compassion." "We know that most Canadians understand that marijuana is a relatively harmless plant that should not be illegal," he said. The last time Mr. Emery was convicted in Canada of selling cannabis seeds, back in 1998, he was given a $2,000 fine. Vancouver Sun imulgrew@png.canwest.com http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=404225
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