Rallying to save Marc Emery from deportation
Dear Editor:
Marijuana activists will be rallying around the globe Saturday, September 19 to support Marc Emery, a former Londoner, who has been fighting extradition to the United States and possible life imprisonment since July 2005.
Rallies are expected to occur in every town and city across Canada, every state in the U.S., and many regions around the globe to protest Emery's extradition as well as prohibition.
Known internationally as the Prince of Pot for his pro-legalization activism, Emery has been a significant factor in the success that the marijuana movement has garnered over the last 15 years. Emery claims to have funded nearly half of the activities of the marijuana movement in Canada between 1995 and 2005, and up to 10 per cent of the U.S. movement.
Emery's success did not go unnoticed south of the border as he became the biggest threat to the U.S.-led “war on drugs.” On July 29, 2005, the United States Justice Department and the DEA ordered the Canadian police to help execute a raid on Emery's Vancouver business outlets and arrest Emery and his two associates -- Michelle Rainey and Greg Williams -- for extradition to the United States.
After four years of fighting these charges, Emery has been forced into accepting a plea bargain so that his two longtime friends could receive a lighter sentence of two years probation. He has fully resigned and is preparing to do hard time in a U.S. federal prison.
The extradition of a non-violent Canadian to an American prison is wrong! Emery is being targeted for political purposes and if we allow this extradition to take place and permit the United States to bully us with blackmail, intimidation, and increased arrests in Canada, then I greatly fear for our sovereignty as a nation.
Emery has not been charged with anything in Canada and this extradition will put a big question on Canada's ability to control how laws are enforced within its own borders.
The DEA should not have offices running in Canada and the fact that they are influencing Canadian laws and Canadian drug policies should be very concerning to us because Canada is a much safer and much more humane society than the United States. Their “war on drugs” has been an expensive and utter failure and has resulted in them having the highest incarceration rate in the world!
Our government should assert Canada's sovereignty and stop this extradition and refuse to allow Canadian citizens to be subject to U.S. laws and pressure.
Josh Dawson
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
Marijuana activists will be rallying around the globe Saturday, September 19 to support Marc Emery, a former Londoner, who has been fighting extradition to the United States and possible life imprisonment since July 2005.
Rallies are expected to occur in every town and city across Canada, every state in the U.S., and many regions around the globe to protest Emery's extradition as well as prohibition.
Known internationally as the Prince of Pot for his pro-legalization activism, Emery has been a significant factor in the success that the marijuana movement has garnered over the last 15 years. Emery claims to have funded nearly half of the activities of the marijuana movement in Canada between 1995 and 2005, and up to 10 per cent of the U.S. movement.
Emery's success did not go unnoticed south of the border as he became the biggest threat to the U.S.-led “war on drugs.” On July 29, 2005, the United States Justice Department and the DEA ordered the Canadian police to help execute a raid on Emery's Vancouver business outlets and arrest Emery and his two associates -- Michelle Rainey and Greg Williams -- for extradition to the United States.
After four years of fighting these charges, Emery has been forced into accepting a plea bargain so that his two longtime friends could receive a lighter sentence of two years probation. He has fully resigned and is preparing to do hard time in a U.S. federal prison.
The extradition of a non-violent Canadian to an American prison is wrong! Emery is being targeted for political purposes and if we allow this extradition to take place and permit the United States to bully us with blackmail, intimidation, and increased arrests in Canada, then I greatly fear for our sovereignty as a nation.
Emery has not been charged with anything in Canada and this extradition will put a big question on Canada's ability to control how laws are enforced within its own borders.
The DEA should not have offices running in Canada and the fact that they are influencing Canadian laws and Canadian drug policies should be very concerning to us because Canada is a much safer and much more humane society than the United States. Their “war on drugs” has been an expensive and utter failure and has resulted in them having the highest incarceration rate in the world!
Our government should assert Canada's sovereignty and stop this extradition and refuse to allow Canadian citizens to be subject to U.S. laws and pressure.
Josh Dawson
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
