Marc Emery, Canada's "Prince of Pot" and a powerful voice in the
debate over the decriminalization of marijuana, was sent to federal prison for
five years on Friday for selling millions of cannabis seeds by mail and phone
order, the culmination of a five-year prosecution and plea agreement that saw
Emery extradited from Vancouver.
In a statement to U.S. District Judge Ricardo Martinez and in a letter to
the court, Emery admitted his attempt to force a change in U.S. and Canadian
drug laws through "civil disobedience" and flouting the laws was
"overzealous and reckless."
"I acted arrogantly in violation of U.S. federal law," he wrote.
"I regret not choosing other methods — legal ones — to achieve my
goals of peaceful political reform.
"In my zeal, I had believed that my actions were wholesome, but my
behavior was in fact illegal and set a bad example for others," he said.
The five-year prison sentence was no surprise. Emery and the government had
agreed to it as part of a deal that saw Emery surrender to U.S. authorities in
May after fighting extradition from Canada for four years.
Two clerks who worked for him at his seed store in Canada had pleaded
guilty earlier and received probation.
Emery was indicted in 2005, and at the time, the then-director of Drug
Enforcement Administration, Karen Tandy, called Emery's 2005 arrest a
"significant blow" to drug trafficking and the
"marijuana-legalization movement."
"Drug-legalization lobbyists have one less pot of money to rely
on," Tandy said at the time.
Emery and his attorney, Richard Troberman, said Friday that statement
proves his prosecution was politically motivated, and for federal prosecutors
to claim otherwise is "absurdly naive."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Greenberg disputed the claim and said Emery is
using it as a diversion from the facts: Until he was arrested, Emery was the
single largest supplier of marijuana seeds — and therefore marijuana — in
the U.S. for a decade.
He sold to anybody, Greenberg said, regardless of age or criminal history.
"The only person who inserted Mr. Emery's politics into this case is
Mr. Emery himself," Greenberg said.
Tandy's 2005 statement, he said, "does not speak for this U.S.
Attorney's Office."
"This case remains about Mr. Emery's long-term and repeated violations
of U.S. drug laws," Greenberg said.
Emery's seeds have been traced to marijuana-grow operations throughout the
U.S. and Canada, and Emery's business "added fuel to the fire" of
drug violence, the prosecutor said.
Troberman argued it is oppressive drug laws that are responsible for the
violence that permeates the drug trade.
Martinez said his courtroom was not the place to debate the legalization of
pot.
He told Emery his actions "ensured that many other people also broke
the law."
The judge said he had received hundreds of letters — including one in
crayon — supporting Emery.
Emery made millions through his mail-order seed company and publication of
his magazine, "Cannabis Culture," and he plowed much of it into the
"anti-prohibition" movements in the U.S. and Canada.
He has helped fund medical-marijuana initiatives in several states,
including California and Washington.
A small group of supporters, including Emery's wife, Jodie, a Canadian
politician and lobbyist, sat quietly through the proceedings, and other
supporters gathered outside the U.S. District Courthouse in Seattle carrying
"Free Marc Emery" signs.
Martinez, at Emery's request, put in a recommendation to the Bureau of
Prison and the State Department that Emery be allowed to serve his term in
Canada.
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