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4/20 rally draws thousands Jonny Wakefield The Ubyssey Thursday 21 Apr 2011 It was also the first time marijuana reform activist Marc Emery was not present. Emery, known for years as "The Prince of Pot" in Vancouver, is serving a five-year sentence in the US for conspiracy to distribute marijuana. "You're all free here today, but many people are not," his wife, Jodie Emery, told the crowd, many of whom held "Free Marc Emery" banners. "This 4/20, let's send up a big smoke signal to celebrate our freedom, let us remember those who we have lost, and let us fight so we don’t lose anyone else." In 2005, Emery was arrested in a joint operation by Canadian police and the US Drug Enforcement Administration. He was charged for trafficking marijuana seeds, and was sentenced to 5 years, to be split between US and Canadian prisons. For the next few years, Emery fought the terms of his sentence, before he was finally extradited in 2009. Earlier this week, his request to be repatriated to Canada for the remainder of his sentence was denied, despite a petition by prominent BC politicians, including former Vancouver mayors Larry Campbell and Sam Sullivan. "The US government has refused his return," said Dana Larsen, one of Emery’s close friends and a former BC NDP leadership candidate. "We can ask again in two years and we will, but…I don't believe Marc Emery will be coming home until the end of his sentence." Larsen, a long time marijuana activist and founder of both the BC and federal marijuana parties, contends Emery is a political prisoner. "When he speaks truth to power…they want to put him in a tighter prison," said Larsen, alluding to his current transfer from a minimum to medium-security prison. "Him celebrating 4/20 is going to be going into a higher security prison where he doesn’t belong." Larsen also stressed the importance of voting in the upcoming federal election and making marijuana reform a serious part of the conversation. "The NDP is ready to accept the marijuana culture and cannabis activists as part of the NDP team," he said. "[They have] been very outspoken about stopping Marc's extradition, about voting against Stephen Harper's crackdown on drug laws." Ms. Emery recently dropped out as the Green Party candidate for Vancouver South, citing a busy schedule working to free her husband. She is currently the Policing and Crime critic for the provincial Green party. The day culminated with the distribution of free joints to the crowd. David Malmo-Levine, who emceed the rally, ordered the masses to sit to avoid a dangerous rush. "Running and trying to get free marijuana might cause a stampede,"he told the crowd. "In the immortal words of Bob Dylan, everybody must get stoned!" he said. http://ubyssey.ca/news/420-rally-draws-thousands/
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