Canada's 'Prince of Pot' ordered extradited to US

May 21, 2010 07:09 pm | Updated November 11, 2016 05:59 am IST - VANCOUVER, British Columbia

Marc Emery, the self-described "Prince of Pot" speaks to reporters outside the Supreme Court in Vancouver, British Columbia. File photo: AP.

Marc Emery, the self-described "Prince of Pot" speaks to reporters outside the Supreme Court in Vancouver, British Columbia. File photo: AP.

” Canada’s so—called Prince of Pot is on his way to the United States to face drug—related charges, his wife said on Thursday.

Marc Emery has sold millions of marijuana seeds around the world by mail over the past decade, drawing the attention of U.S. drug officials.

Emery was ordered extradited to Seattle earlier this month after pleading guilty last year to one charge of distributing marijuana seeds via the mail to U.S. customers.

Jodie Emery said her husband was driven from a Vancouver, British Columbia, jail to the Washington state border on Thursday to be handed over to U.S. authorities.

“They will ... drive him down to Seattle to Federal Court where he will make his initial appearance so that they can show that they’ve got him,” she said.

She said her husband will be held in a detention centre south of Seattle for about a week before appearing in front of a judge to plead guilty.

Canada’s Minister of Justice Rob Nicholson signed off on his extradition on May 10, saying the extradition order was sought on charges of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute marijuana and engage in money laundering.

Emery reached a plea deal with U.S. prosecutors last year, agreeing to plead guilty to conspiracy to manufacture marijuana in return for a sentence of five years in prison. He will carry out his plea—bargained sentenced in Seattle.

After the extradition was signed off on, Jodie Emery accused Nicholson of wanting to “silence the most vocal opponent of the drug war.”

Emery’s supporters view him as a crusader for the use and sale of the drug for both its recreational and medicinal value. To drug officials, he is a criminal and the biggest purveyor of marijuana from Canada into the United States.

Emery has long maintained that his prosecution was politically motivated in the U.S. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has repeatedly denied that.

The marijuana activist has been out on bail since November 17, when he was released from custody as the minister made the final decision in his case.

Jodie Emery said she had no warning of when he was to be extradited and will hold a rally with marijuana supporters in front of her husband’s Cannabis Culture store in downtown Vancouver.

She called on other marijuana activists to shut down Hastings Street, a busy commuter link in the western Canadian city, directly in front of the business.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.