I recently wrote an article asking why Canadian marijuana activist Marc Emery was still in prison in America. Marc Emery was extradited to the United States in 2010 for selling marijuana seeds via his magazine ‘Cannabis Culture.’ The main reason that he was convicted by the United States in the first place was not because he was selling seeds alone. It was because Marc Emery was selling seeds and using his profits to fund marijuana legalization efforts in the United States and Canada.
The United States government felt that if they could shut down Marc Emery’s efforts, that the legalization movement would be dealt a blow that it wouldn’t recover from. However, that wasn’t the case, as Marc Emery’s efforts helped build momentum that proved impossible to stop, as Washington and Colorado legalized marijuana in 2012, and numerous other reforms have happened across the country too.
Despite it being unfair, Marc Emery turned himself in in 2010, went to the United States, and served an almost five year prison sentence. His prison sentence was up over a month ago, however, Marc Emery still sat in an American jail awaiting his transfer back to Canada. Day after day, week after week, Marc’s wife Jodie was kept in the dark as to when her husband would be coming home. I’m happy to say, it appears that the wait is over. Per Jodie’s tweet below:
BREAKING NEWS: Marc was told by an Immigrations & Customs Enforcement officer that he’s coming home next week! #cdnpoli #bcpoli #vanpoli
— Jodie Emery (@JodieEmery) August 8, 2014
When I saw that tweet go out, my heart skipped a beat. I have admired Marc and Jodie Emery for a long time, and I’m ecstatic to know that they will finally be reunited back in Canada soon. I’m very curious to see what Marc does when he is free, how it affects the movement in North America and beyond, and what Marc thinks of the current state of the marijuana movement and industry. A lot has happened since 2010. Congratulations to the Emerys, and I look forward to following their endeavors in the near future!
