Marc Emery, Canada's enigmatic "Prince of Pot" who sold millions of marijuana seeds over the Internet, will face a five year punishment in the United States after a U.S. district judge in Seattle handed down his sentence on Friday.
Emery, founder and publisher of Cannabis Culture magazine, is a longtime and highly vocal Canadian marijuana activist. His wife Jodie maintains that U.S. authorities targeted his operation over other Canadian seed-sellers because of all the funding he's provided to the legal movement to regulate cannabis in the U.S.
Emery's sentence, issued by U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez, includes four years of supervised probation. He was convicted on a single charge of conspiracy to manufacture marijuana.
U.S. authorities had described him as one of the country's "most wanted drug trafficking targets," according to CNN. The investigation, now concluded with Emery's trial and sentencing, was ongoing for over five years. Though indicted in 2005, Emery was not handed over to U.S. authorities until May 10 of this year. He pleaded guilty 14 days later.
In a press release lauding the government's efforts, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) declared a significant victory in the battle against marijuana legalization efforts.
"Hundreds of thousands of dollars from Emery's illicit profits are known to have been channeled to marijuana legalization groups active in the United States and Canada," read a statement from DEA administrator Karen P. Tandy. "Drug legalization lobbyists now have one less pot of money to rely on."
Emery's prosecutors vehemently denied that politics played any role in the trial.
"Marc Emery decided that U.S. laws did not apply to him, but he was wrong," U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan said Friday, according to CNN. "Emery put his personal profits above the law. He made millions of dollars by shipping millions of seeds into the U.S. He sold to anyone who would pay him -- with no regard for the age or criminal activities of his customers. Now, Emery is paying the price for being part of the illegal drug trade that damages lives, homes and the environment."
Emery was facing more than 30 years in a U.S. prison before he cut a deal with U.S. authorities in Sept. 2009, agreeing to plead guilty in exchange for the five-year sentence.
"Upon my conviction, my wife Jodie will organize a campaign to have me transferred back to a Canadian jail - if transferred my sentence would reflect Canadian rules of release, so a 5-year sentence may see me released after a few years to day parole," he wrote, explaining the agreement to a guilty plea.
In a letter to the court, Emery said his seed-selling business, though a form of "civil disobedience," was "arrogant" and wrong.
"I regret not choosing other methods — legal ones — to achieve my goals of peaceful political reform," he wrote. "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."
"The judge said he had received hundreds of letters — including one in crayon — supporting Emery," The Seattle Times noted.
Emery was to be transferred to a federal prison in El Reno, Oklahoma following his sentencing, Cannabis Culture said. His wife and supporters said they planned to protest his imprisonment during a series of Sept. 18 rallies.
via[RAWSTORY]
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Officials believe marijuana laws will ease nationwide
Local, state and federal political figures told a crowd at the Colorado Cannabis Convention on Saturday that they believe marijuana laws nationwide will continue to become less restrictive, with full legalization a real possibility.
But, the politicians said, marijuana activists will need to be both patient and persistent to make that happen.
"Don't expect the legislature to solve all of these problems in one year," said state Sen. Pat Steadman, D-Denver. "Don't expect every piece of legislation to be perfect. The law usually moves in baby steps over time."
The legislative panel — featuring Steadman; state Rep. Joe Miklosi, D-Denver; Denver Councilman Chris Nevitt; and the district director for U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo. — was one of the main events of the convention's final day. (Another was a better-attended autograph-signing session by the marijuana-infused hip-hop group Cypress Hill.)
Organizers had predicted the convention could attract as many as 100,000 people; attendance was steady Saturday, but no official head count was available. Event organizer Michael Lerner, a California media magnate whose properties include Kush magazine and DailyBuds.com, said he was pleased with the event.
"Phenomenal," he said. "Completely incident-free."
Polis had been expected to speak at the legislative panel but had to cancel at the last minute. Nonetheless, Polis district director Andy Schultheiss told the crowd that Polis is supportive of marijuana activists and said the congressman from Boulder has signed on as a co-sponsor to a bill that would give full protection from federal prosecution to the medical-marijuana industry and another that would legalize marijuana altogether for adults.
Polis also is a co-sponsor on a bill that would allow defendants in medical-marijuana states to raise a medical defense in federal court.
The bills have not yet had a congressional hearing.
"The number of members of Congress who say, like Jared Polis, that marijuana should be legalized is growing," Schultheiss said. ". . . Social change takes time, and we are in the middle of it now."
None of the panel members differed greatly in their opinions, and they spoke to an audience of the converted. When Miklosi said of medical-marijuana, "This can be a positive force in society," the comment drew cheers.
Earlier in the day, a panel of lawyers was less optimistic about the immediate political future of marijuana. Attorney Rob Corry said efforts at the state Capitol to craft rules for the medical-marijuana industry amounted to an attempt to "regulate us out of existence." Brian Vicente, with Sensible Colorado, said the bills would hurt small marijuana growers and patient cooperatives.
And attorney Sean McAllister urged medical-marijuana growers and caregivers to refuse to cooperate with police investigations.
"Say, 'It's medical, it's legal and other than that you can talk to my attorney,' " McAllister said.
via: Denver Post
But, the politicians said, marijuana activists will need to be both patient and persistent to make that happen.
"Don't expect the legislature to solve all of these problems in one year," said state Sen. Pat Steadman, D-Denver. "Don't expect every piece of legislation to be perfect. The law usually moves in baby steps over time."
The legislative panel — featuring Steadman; state Rep. Joe Miklosi, D-Denver; Denver Councilman Chris Nevitt; and the district director for U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo. — was one of the main events of the convention's final day. (Another was a better-attended autograph-signing session by the marijuana-infused hip-hop group Cypress Hill.)
Organizers had predicted the convention could attract as many as 100,000 people; attendance was steady Saturday, but no official head count was available. Event organizer Michael Lerner, a California media magnate whose properties include Kush magazine and DailyBuds.com, said he was pleased with the event.
"Phenomenal," he said. "Completely incident-free."
Polis had been expected to speak at the legislative panel but had to cancel at the last minute. Nonetheless, Polis district director Andy Schultheiss told the crowd that Polis is supportive of marijuana activists and said the congressman from Boulder has signed on as a co-sponsor to a bill that would give full protection from federal prosecution to the medical-marijuana industry and another that would legalize marijuana altogether for adults.
Polis also is a co-sponsor on a bill that would allow defendants in medical-marijuana states to raise a medical defense in federal court.
The bills have not yet had a congressional hearing.
"The number of members of Congress who say, like Jared Polis, that marijuana should be legalized is growing," Schultheiss said. ". . . Social change takes time, and we are in the middle of it now."
None of the panel members differed greatly in their opinions, and they spoke to an audience of the converted. When Miklosi said of medical-marijuana, "This can be a positive force in society," the comment drew cheers.
Earlier in the day, a panel of lawyers was less optimistic about the immediate political future of marijuana. Attorney Rob Corry said efforts at the state Capitol to craft rules for the medical-marijuana industry amounted to an attempt to "regulate us out of existence." Brian Vicente, with Sensible Colorado, said the bills would hurt small marijuana growers and patient cooperatives.
And attorney Sean McAllister urged medical-marijuana growers and caregivers to refuse to cooperate with police investigations.
"Say, 'It's medical, it's legal and other than that you can talk to my attorney,' " McAllister said.
via: Denver Post
Saturday, March 27, 2010
ILLEGAL GROWERS FEAR LEGALIZED POT
California
-------
California | November Initiative Could Lead to Lost Income in Humboldt County
REDWAY, Calif. -- The smell of pot hung heavy in the air as men with dreadlocks and gray beards contemplated a nightmarish possibility in this legendary region of outlaw marijuana growers: legal weed.
If California legalizes marijuana, they say, it will drive down the price of their crop and damage not just their livelihoods but the entire economy along the state's rugged northern coast.
"The legalization of marijuana will be the single most devastating economic event in the long boom-and-bust history of Northern California," said Anna Hamilton, 62, a Humboldt County radio host and musician who said her involvement with marijuana has mostly been limited to smoking it for the past 40 years.
Local residents are so worried that pot farmers came together with officials in Humboldt County for a standing-room-only meeting Tuesday night where civic leaders, activists and growers brainstormed ideas for dealing with the threat. Among the ideas: turning the vast pot gardens of Humboldt County into a destination for marijuana aficionados, with tours and tastings -- a sort of Napa Valley of pot.
Many were also enthusiastic about promoting the Humboldt brand of pot. Some discussed forming a cooperative that would enforce high standards for marijuana and stamp the county's finest weed with an official Humboldt seal of approval.
Pot growers are nervous because a measure that could make California the first state to legalize marijuana for recreational use will appear on the ballot in November. State officials certified Wednesday that the initiative got enough signatures.
The law, if approved, could have a profound effect on Humboldt County, which has long had a reputation for growing some of the world's best weed.
In recent years, law enforcement agents have seized millions of pot plants worth billions of dollars in Humboldt and neighboring counties. And that is believed to be only a fraction of the crop.
"We've lived with the name association for 30 or 40 years and considered it an embarrassment," said Mark Lovelace, a Humboldt County supervisor. But if legalization does happen, he said, the Humboldt County name becomes the region's single most important asset.
"It's laughable at this point to try to be hush-hush about it," he said.
Humboldt County's reputation as a marijuana mecca began in the 1970s. As pot users began to notice a decline in the quality of Mexican weed, refugees from San Francisco's Summer of Love who moved to the forested mountains along California's conveniently remote North Coast began figuring out better ways to grow their own. The Humboldt name soon became a selling point for marijuana sold on street corners across the country.
These days, the small towns in this region about five hours north of San Francisco are dotted with head shops and garden supply stores.
California is one of 14 states that allow people to grow and use marijuana for medical purposes, but recreational use remains illegal. ( And will remain illegal under federal law, regardless of how California votes. )
For decades, the outlaws, rebels and aging hippies of Humboldt County have been hoping for legalization. But now that it appears at hand, many clandestine growers fear it will flood the market with cheap, corporate-grown weed and destroy their way of life.
About 20 pot growers gathered on a patio outside the meeting Tuesday to discuss the dilemma posed by legalized pot. Many wore baseball caps and jeans, just like farmers anywhere else in America. No one addressed anyone else by name, a local custom driven by fear of arrest, but that didn't stop some in the group from lighting up their crop.
Many complained that legalization would put them in the same bind as other small farmers struggling to compete against large-scale agribusinesses.
A dreadlocked younger grower who said he had already been to prison for marijuana objected that no one could replicate the quality of the region's weed. When he was a kid, he said, "Humboldt nuggets -- that was like the holy grail."
"Anyone can grow marijuana," he said. "But not everyone can grow the super-heavies, the holy bud."
Under the ballot measure, Californians could possess up to one ounce of marijuana for personal use. They could cultivate gardens up to 25 square feet, which is puny by Humboldt County standards. City and county governments would have the power to tax pot sales.
Some growers Tuesday fantasized about mobs of tourists in limos streaming to the county. Others were not thrilled with the idea of paying taxes on their crop.
Many agreed with the sentiment on a sticker plastered on a pizza joint's cash register: "Save Humboldt County -- keep pot illegal."
BALLOT MEASURE
Use: California is one of 14 states that allows people to grow and use marijuana for medical purposes, but recreational use remains illegal. ( And will remain illegal under federal law, regardless of how California votes. )
Measure: Under the ballot measure, Californians could possess up to one ounce of marijuana for personal use. They could cultivate gardens up to 25 square feet. City and county governments would have the power to tax pot sales.
In Oregon: In 1973, Oregon became the first state in the nation to decriminalize marijuana, making the sentence for possession of less than an ounce akin to receiving a traffic ticket.
via: NORML
-------
California | November Initiative Could Lead to Lost Income in Humboldt County
REDWAY, Calif. -- The smell of pot hung heavy in the air as men with dreadlocks and gray beards contemplated a nightmarish possibility in this legendary region of outlaw marijuana growers: legal weed.
If California legalizes marijuana, they say, it will drive down the price of their crop and damage not just their livelihoods but the entire economy along the state's rugged northern coast.
"The legalization of marijuana will be the single most devastating economic event in the long boom-and-bust history of Northern California," said Anna Hamilton, 62, a Humboldt County radio host and musician who said her involvement with marijuana has mostly been limited to smoking it for the past 40 years.
Local residents are so worried that pot farmers came together with officials in Humboldt County for a standing-room-only meeting Tuesday night where civic leaders, activists and growers brainstormed ideas for dealing with the threat. Among the ideas: turning the vast pot gardens of Humboldt County into a destination for marijuana aficionados, with tours and tastings -- a sort of Napa Valley of pot.
Many were also enthusiastic about promoting the Humboldt brand of pot. Some discussed forming a cooperative that would enforce high standards for marijuana and stamp the county's finest weed with an official Humboldt seal of approval.
Pot growers are nervous because a measure that could make California the first state to legalize marijuana for recreational use will appear on the ballot in November. State officials certified Wednesday that the initiative got enough signatures.
The law, if approved, could have a profound effect on Humboldt County, which has long had a reputation for growing some of the world's best weed.
In recent years, law enforcement agents have seized millions of pot plants worth billions of dollars in Humboldt and neighboring counties. And that is believed to be only a fraction of the crop.
"We've lived with the name association for 30 or 40 years and considered it an embarrassment," said Mark Lovelace, a Humboldt County supervisor. But if legalization does happen, he said, the Humboldt County name becomes the region's single most important asset.
"It's laughable at this point to try to be hush-hush about it," he said.
Humboldt County's reputation as a marijuana mecca began in the 1970s. As pot users began to notice a decline in the quality of Mexican weed, refugees from San Francisco's Summer of Love who moved to the forested mountains along California's conveniently remote North Coast began figuring out better ways to grow their own. The Humboldt name soon became a selling point for marijuana sold on street corners across the country.
These days, the small towns in this region about five hours north of San Francisco are dotted with head shops and garden supply stores.
California is one of 14 states that allow people to grow and use marijuana for medical purposes, but recreational use remains illegal. ( And will remain illegal under federal law, regardless of how California votes. )
For decades, the outlaws, rebels and aging hippies of Humboldt County have been hoping for legalization. But now that it appears at hand, many clandestine growers fear it will flood the market with cheap, corporate-grown weed and destroy their way of life.
About 20 pot growers gathered on a patio outside the meeting Tuesday to discuss the dilemma posed by legalized pot. Many wore baseball caps and jeans, just like farmers anywhere else in America. No one addressed anyone else by name, a local custom driven by fear of arrest, but that didn't stop some in the group from lighting up their crop.
Many complained that legalization would put them in the same bind as other small farmers struggling to compete against large-scale agribusinesses.
A dreadlocked younger grower who said he had already been to prison for marijuana objected that no one could replicate the quality of the region's weed. When he was a kid, he said, "Humboldt nuggets -- that was like the holy grail."
"Anyone can grow marijuana," he said. "But not everyone can grow the super-heavies, the holy bud."
Under the ballot measure, Californians could possess up to one ounce of marijuana for personal use. They could cultivate gardens up to 25 square feet, which is puny by Humboldt County standards. City and county governments would have the power to tax pot sales.
Some growers Tuesday fantasized about mobs of tourists in limos streaming to the county. Others were not thrilled with the idea of paying taxes on their crop.
Many agreed with the sentiment on a sticker plastered on a pizza joint's cash register: "Save Humboldt County -- keep pot illegal."
BALLOT MEASURE
Use: California is one of 14 states that allows people to grow and use marijuana for medical purposes, but recreational use remains illegal. ( And will remain illegal under federal law, regardless of how California votes. )
Measure: Under the ballot measure, Californians could possess up to one ounce of marijuana for personal use. They could cultivate gardens up to 25 square feet. City and county governments would have the power to tax pot sales.
In Oregon: In 1973, Oregon became the first state in the nation to decriminalize marijuana, making the sentence for possession of less than an ounce akin to receiving a traffic ticket.
via: NORML
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Marijuana legalization
Pot advocate Mason Tvert filed language on Wednesday for a November ballot initiative that would allow Coloradans 21 and older to use marijuana. Does that mean Colorado is about to be embroiled in a full-scale movement to legalize weed? Not necessarily.
"There isn't some large campaign being launched," says Tvert, reached during a business trip in San Francisco. "It's just something we wanted to make sure was possible if we decided to do it." He explains the he and his colleagues at SAFER, the marijuana reform organization Tvert runs, wanted to file the appropriate paperwork for such a contingency before key election deadlines had passed. But they're far from launching an official political operation.
After all, Tvert, who's never one to turn down a press opportunity, wasn't really looking to get the word out about the filing at all. "If we knew this was happening, we'd be the first ones to let people know about it," he says.
If Initiative 47, as its titled on state paperwork, moves forward, it would ask voters to authorize a comprehensive regulatory system that would control marijuana similarly to how the state currently manages alcohol, says Tvert. In this model, both pot shops and pot grows would have to be licensed, there'd be limitations as to where one could use it and nothing in the law would supersede current rules about driving under the influence of drugs.
A lot of considerations will go into whether or not advocates decide this is the year to fight marijuana prohibition in Colorado, says Tvert. That includes timing issues, funding potential and what happens with current state attempts to regulate medical marijuana.
If the time does seem right, rest assured Tvert will have a whole lot more to say about it.
via: Westworld
Friday, January 8, 2010
Marijuana Stores Trump Starbucks In Denver
If you want more proof that selling legal pot is a booming business, consider this statistic: Denver has more medical-marijuana shops than Starbucks Corp. locations.
Denver's City Treasurer Steve Ellington tells ABC New affiliate Channel 7 that at least 390 pot dispensaries applied for a sales-tax license recently. That compares to 208 Starbucks in the entire state of Colorado, the station reports. Denver's city council took a step toward regulating the marijuana stores last night, and the businesses are filing their tax applications.
The Denver statistic sheds light on a business that is becoming more institutionalized as local governments try to figure out ways to raise revenue. The Denver council will hold a public hearing and take a final vote Monday. Only a day later, on Tuesday, a California Assembly panel is expected to vote on a bill that would legalize pot across the state.
Denver is an example of how desperate politicians are to collect taxes on this burgeoning industry. The marijuana dispensaries are rushing to get their sales-tax applications filed to beat a deadline as part of a new law being considered. The change in law: No marijuana store can be within 1,000 feet of schools or child-care centers unless you get your tax application in before a deadline.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
California reform in the works
The Tax & Regulate Cannabis 2010 campaign has just achieved a major victory in its efforts to legalize marijuana for all adults in California -- they have gathered the signatures necessary for inclusion on the state's November ballot.
"This is the next step to sane cannabis policies and the end to the hypocrisy and unjust prohibition of cannabis," pot entrepreneur Richard Lee told me Monday morning. He is the co-proponent and a major sponsor of the Tax Cannabis initiative and the force -- and money -- behind Oaksterdam, the successful marijuana-friendly section of Oakland.
This win means that Californians will be the first in the nation to decide whether they believe marijuana ought be taxed and regulated for all adults over 21, much the same way alcohol is.
The drug reform movement's eyes will be on California next year, because many advocates believe that if the initiative passes, many other states could follow.
Support for marijuana legalization is at an all-time high, with polls ranging from 44 to 52 percent national support. In California, where marijuana has been legalized for medical use since 1996, 56 percent support legalization.
This may be why the campaign's organizers were able to gather so many signatures -- nearly 700,000 -- so quickly. Lee tells me the signature-gathering effort was launched only two months before they had achieved that massive number, although legally they were allotted five months to come up with the signatures. Lee collected a couple hundred himself.
"This is the next step to sane cannabis policies and the end to the hypocrisy and unjust prohibition of cannabis," pot entrepreneur Richard Lee told me Monday morning. He is the co-proponent and a major sponsor of the Tax Cannabis initiative and the force -- and money -- behind Oaksterdam, the successful marijuana-friendly section of Oakland.
This win means that Californians will be the first in the nation to decide whether they believe marijuana ought be taxed and regulated for all adults over 21, much the same way alcohol is.
The drug reform movement's eyes will be on California next year, because many advocates believe that if the initiative passes, many other states could follow.
Support for marijuana legalization is at an all-time high, with polls ranging from 44 to 52 percent national support. In California, where marijuana has been legalized for medical use since 1996, 56 percent support legalization.
This may be why the campaign's organizers were able to gather so many signatures -- nearly 700,000 -- so quickly. Lee tells me the signature-gathering effort was launched only two months before they had achieved that massive number, although legally they were allotted five months to come up with the signatures. Lee collected a couple hundred himself.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Rhode Island Studies Marijuana Decriminalization
Posted by Doug Bandow
Criminalization of marijuana use never did make sense. Surely the results of the Drug War–billions of dollars wasted, tens of millions of regular users, millions of people arrested–have made it even more obvious that prohibition is a failure. And now,with the U.S. suffering through a nasty recession, it is even more foolish to waste resources in a vain attempt to stop recreational drug use.
Before heading home for the July 4th weekend the Rhode Island Senate set up a committee to study the idea of decriminalization. Reports the Providence Journal:
Weeks after legalizing the sale of marijuana to sick people, lawmakers have voted to explore how much Rhode Island might collect in revenue if it were to make all sales of marijuana legal and impose a “sin tax” of $35 per ounce.
During the General Assembly’s aborted rush to adjournment Friday, the Senate approved a resolution — introduced earlier the same day — to create a nine-member special commission to study a swath of issues surrounding marijuana. Among them: “The experience of individuals and families sentenced for violating marijuana laws … The experience of states and European countries, such as California, Massachusetts and the Netherlands, which have decriminalized the sale and use of marijuana.”
Drug prohibition has failed. Rhode Island legislators have an opportunity to help the nation change direction in the way it deals with drug abuse.
Via: .Cato@Liberty
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