Emery is scheduled for an extradition hearing. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency wants to take him across the border and try him on charges relating to the marijuana seed business he ran flagrantly and successfully in Vancouver for years.
A conviction for selling seeds to U.S. customers would likely land him in prison for a number of years. That's an outcome he publicly dreads, but has been courting for ages.
His arrest almost three years ago at the request of the DEA is payback for all the embarrassment he's created. After years of advocating legalized pot, smoking joints in front of TV cameras and making a pile of money selling seeds around the world, he was busted and his business was raided by Canadian police acting on the request/order of the DEA.
Extraditions are based on a treaty in which Canada and the U.S. agree to deliver suspects across the border when the offence is considered a crime in both countries. A judge will take a look at the evidence and probably conclude there's a case to be made against Emery.
The federal justice minister can intervene and there are routes of appeal, so the case will likely continue for years.
Selling marijuana seeds might be a crime in both countries. But in Canada, and particularly in B.C., it's considered a trivial offence, on a par with jaywalking. The law is enforced haphazardly and rarely.
Emery went out of his way to get arrested countless times in B.C. and was snubbed by the authorities. He listed his occupation as marijuana seed vendor on his income tax returns.
His Vancouver shop was a fixture on the dope scene. Vancouver police politely looked the other way while various major U.S. media showed up and did profiles on the wondrous Canadian attitude toward pot. He led the B.C. Marijuana Party into several elections and no one raised an eyebrow.
A conviction for selling seeds to U.S. customers would likely land him in prison for a number of years. That's an outcome he publicly dreads, but has been courting for ages.
His arrest almost three years ago at the request of the DEA is payback for all the embarrassment he's created. After years of advocating legalized pot, smoking joints in front of TV cameras and making a pile of money selling seeds around the world, he was busted and his business was raided by Canadian police acting on the request/order of the DEA.
Extraditions are based on a treaty in which Canada and the U.S. agree to deliver suspects across the border when the offence is considered a crime in both countries. A judge will take a look at the evidence and probably conclude there's a case to be made against Emery.
The federal justice minister can intervene and there are routes of appeal, so the case will likely continue for years.
Selling marijuana seeds might be a crime in both countries. But in Canada, and particularly in B.C., it's considered a trivial offence, on a par with jaywalking. The law is enforced haphazardly and rarely.
Emery went out of his way to get arrested countless times in B.C. and was snubbed by the authorities. He listed his occupation as marijuana seed vendor on his income tax returns.
His Vancouver shop was a fixture on the dope scene. Vancouver police politely looked the other way while various major U.S. media showed up and did profiles on the wondrous Canadian attitude toward pot. He led the B.C. Marijuana Party into several elections and no one raised an eyebrow.
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