Emery Smoked by Extradition

Mark Emery, leader of the British Columbia Marijuana Party, entered jail on Monday to ponder his fate before he is extradited to the United States to serve a five-year jail sentence for mailing marijuana to users ‘round North America. Although Emery is a Canadian and has never visited the land of the free and the home of the brave, he is to serve his sentence in the U.S. because he technically sold seeds in America, albeit via the postal system. Some people, mainly Emery’s wife, argue since Emery is a Canadian, he shouldn’t be “charged and imprisoned in a foreign country” or that Emery should at least be able to do his stint in jail in a Canadian prison. Oh look at that poor criminal, forced to go all the way across the border to the big, bad United States for a crime he admits he committed. Boo freaking’ hoo. People who commit crimes in other countries are generally extradited to that country. Canada generally co-operates, unless the country doing the extraditing is known to have a poor human rights record. Even then, government intervention isn’t guaranteed.

It’s kind of hilarious, in an ironic sort of way, that Emery is being extradited to the United States when he has never even stepped foot in the country. The U.S. might be foreign territory to Emery but it’s not like he’s being forced to leave the continent. Emery might be stuck doing jail time in a country that voted for George W. Bush twice and thinks Jessica Simpson is worthy of a Vanity Fair cover but at least Emery will be able to speak the language.

It would be easy to have an ounce of sympathy for Emery; that is, if he accepted some responsibility for his actions. But sadly, Emery makes it nearly impossible for many of us to like him. A loveable stoner in a Judd Apatow movie, he is not. Emery doesn’t seem to understand that he broke the law. He also doesn’t think his business bred consequences. Emery has been quoted as saying, “There isn't a single victim in my case, no one who can stand up and say, 'I was hurt by Marc Emery.' No one.” But many people are, directly or indirectly, victims of Emery and his business. The majority, if not all of the marijuana seeds Emery sold from 1994 to 2005 were, no doubt, grown into plants. These plants were smoked by teenagers, parents, lovers and hippies. People got high from these plants. Fine, whatever. Some people probably just bought the seeds to grow a plant or two in their dorm room closet. Maybe these people just liked to smoke up occasionally, at parties and with friends, and never sold pot. These occasional stoners probably had a grand old’ time, courtesy of Mark Emery and his magic little seeds. These people presumably weren’t hurt in any way and maybe they didn’t hurt anybody along the way. But some people undoubtedly did hurt themselves, or others. Some drove high, perhaps causing accidents. Some people who grew Emery’s marijuana seeds into marijuana plants sold them to other people. Some of these buyers and sellers were no doubt stuck in a downward spiral they couldn’t break and their lives crumbled, in large part due to drugs. Emery isn’t separate from this pain. The man who sold the seeds is no different from the people who sold the plants. For Emery to claim that “no one” was hurt by his seed-selling business is bullshit. Just ask Emery’s wife Jody who sobbed as she watched her husband being escorted to jail. Just ask Emery himself, who may spend the next five years in a U.S. jail, unless he issues and wins an appeal. Oh, if only there was some way to avoid this whole messy business. Oh wait, there is: don’t break the law in the first place; and, if you are going to break the law, don’t put it on your business cards.

The only person who wasn’t hurt by Emery’s seed-selling business is Emery’s public persona the “Prince of Pot.” Emery’s public image has actually been boosted in the eyes of many, thanks in part to the 30-city “farewell tour” he did before he was taken into custody. Now, instead of being seen as a slimy enabler with a lucrative business, Emery will be seen as a martyr for the marijuana cause. Pot smokers and anti-establishment types all across North America will be in awe of Emery because he is pro-pot, pro-legalization, pro-I-Can-Do-Whatever-I-Want-Even-If-It’s-Against-The-Law-And-I’m-Likely-To-Get-Caught.