An Ironic Extradition?

On May 10th Canadian Justice Minister Rob Nicholson is supposed to decide whether or not to extradite marijuana legalization advocate Marc Emery to the United States. Emery, whose importance is discussed in Fatal Distraction: The War on Drugs in the Age of Islamic Terror, faces charges and a likely harsh sentence for selling Cannabis seeds over the internet. However, DEA administrator Karen Tandy inadvertently made it clear that the “Prince of Pot’s” troubles have their origin in his political activities rather than his commercial ones when upon Emery’s arrest she stated that the event was "a significant blow not only to the marijuana trafficking trade in the US and Canada, but also to the marijuana legalization movement."

Although the issue of extradition will be decided by political means it is Canadian politics not American ones that count. In this respect Emery can rely on a tremendous amount of support. In March, members of the Liberal, Conservative, and New Democratic parties presented petitions to Parliament containing 12,000 signatures asking that Emery remain in Canada. Later the French speaking Bloc Quebecois also called for the extradition to be blocked. Emery believes that the “government does want to extradite me, but the public pressure not to do it is substantial. There is nothing to be gained by extraditing me, and it will piss off a couple of million voters in the next election."

If Emery were to be sent to the United States for incarceration it would be not only unjust but also highly ironic as the evidence of a rapidly changing attitude towards marijuana use in America is abundant. In just the most recent issue of the Drug War Chronicle we learn that people caught in the city of Philadelphia with less that 30 grams of cannabis will now face a summary offense instead of a criminal misdemeanor. Meanwhile the legislature in Maine approved a law allowing for medical marijuana dispensaries. Also, a new medical marijuana bill has passed through the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee in Maryland. The town of Nederland in Colorado passed a measure with 54% of the vote that legalizes adult possession of cannabis. Lastly, in Alabama a house legislative committee vote favored medical marijuana legislation. What a terrible twist of fate it would be if Marc Emery was imprisoned for conducting a political battle that he now beginning to win.

Cross posted on The Trebach Report