extradition

By ADAM CLAYTON, Winnipeg Sun

 

Joe Rogan is angry with Canada.

 

It seems the Los Angeles-based standup comedian loves the Great White North and its famously friendly inhabitants, but is none too pleased with Canada’s recent decision to extradite B.C. pot activist Marc Emery to the U.S. for selling marijuana seeds through the mail.

 

“That’s really a disgraceful thing. I’m really upset at Canada for doing that, for giving that guy up to America,” Rogan said in a telephone interview this week. “No one in Canada wants to prosecute him yet they send this guy to America to lock him in a cage for selling seeds of a plant that makes you silly.”

 

Rogan will take the stage at the Burton Cummings Theatre on Saturday, his first stop in Winnipeg in more than 20 years of doing standup comedy. He appeared on the NBC sitcom NewsRadio in the ‘90s and is best known for his later role as host of the reality TV show Fear Factor and his current gig doing colour commentary for the hugely popular Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Read more »

 

10 June 2010

For Immediate Release

 

Jacob Hunter, the Foundation's Policy Director, was arrested today at Justice Minister Rob Nicholson's constituency office in Niagara, ON.  Mr. Hunter was there as part of a continuing series of protests being held at the offices of Conservative Members of Parliament by supporters of Marc Emery, a Canadian citizen a political activist recently extradited from Canada to the United States.  Another individual was apparently also arrested at the scene.  This is the first protest at which arrests have been made.

  Read more »

By. Anthony Foster and Shaun Tandon, Agence France-Presse

 

Jamaicans voiced growing worries Wednesday for the safety of slum dwellers caught in an all-out offensive to capture an alleged drug kingpin as officials said at least 44 civilians were killed.

 

Smoke billowed into the sky of the Caribbean island's capital for a third straight day as gun-toting soldiers and armed young men in jeans played a game of cat-and-mouse to seize control of some of Kingston's poorest neighborhoods.

 

Many residents remain fiercely loyal to local don Christopher "Dudus" Coke, who is wanted in the United States for drug trafficking but has set up a virtual mini-economy in slums a world away from Jamaica's famous beaches. Read more »

by Nina, Drugs and Conflict

 

I was just in Jamaica last week, for a short vacation to decompress after finals. A few days later, not far from the tranquil waters of Treasure Beach, Jamaicans in Kingston are up in arms to defend local don and aptly-named alleged drug dealer Christopher “Dudus” Coke from extradition to the US — setting fire to police stations, putting up roadblocks and inspiring a US travel warning. The Jamaica Gleaner reports,

 

The extradition request for Dudus is threatening to put an end to the political life of a prime minister, has already caused the resignation of a government senator, and has led to questions about the credibility of an administration that came to power with great expectations less than three years ago.

 

In addition, it has reduced commerce in downtown Kingston to a fraction of its regular performance, forced the army to call out the National Reserve, and caused the police to engage in planning an information strategy that has never before been seen by or commandeered the full attention of the entire nation. Read more »

By Emanuella Grinberg, CNN

 

A man known as Canada's "prince of pot" pleaded guilty Monday in a deal with prosecutors that could send him to prison in the United States for five years.

 

Marijuana activist Marc Emery pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Seattle, Washington, to a single count of conspiracy to manufacture marijuana following an 18-month investigation into the seed-selling business Emery operated from his head shop in Vancouver, British Columbia.

 

U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo Martinez scheduled Emery's sentencing August 27. At that time, the judge has the choice of accepting or rejecting the plea agreement, said Emery's Seattle-based attorney, Richard Troberman.

 

"Based on comments the court has made. I have every reason to believe he will follow the plea agreement," Troberman told CNN.

 

Emery, 52, was brought to the United States last week. Canada's justice minister signed an extradition order May 10 that left the outspoken libertarian with little choice after years of fighting extradition. Read more »

By: Ben Bowling , Guardian.co.uk

 

The tragedy unfolding in Jamaica is symptomatic of a wider crisis of organised crime, armed violence and political corruption caused by a failed "war on drugs". The tangled political and economic roots of the problem run very deep.

 

Caribbean nations were born from the violence of chattel slavery and rebellion, colonial domination and the struggle for liberation and self-determination. The postcolonial flight of capital and structural readjustment have been compounded by the end of transatlantic trade agreements that have led to the collapse of the region's agricultural economic base. High levels of unemployment and extreme marginality have been the result for many communities.

  Read more »

By. CanwestNews Service

 

British Columbia's so-called "Prince of Pot" pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. district court in Seattle to conspiracy to manufacture marijuana and will be sentenced in August, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

 

Marc Emery, 51, could face five years in prison. He will remain at the detention centre at SeaTac in Washington until the sentencing.

 

"Sometimes you reap what you sow," said U.S. attorney Jenny A. Durkan. "Today, Mark Emery acknowledged he broke the law. Seeds from Marc Emery's business were found at grow sites across the U.S. Mr. Emery made millions of dollars promoting and facilitating marijuana grows in the United States with no regard for the age or criminal activities of his customers. The rule of law requires accountability.

 

A five-year prison term will hold Emery accountable for his choice to ignore the law."

 

Emery was indicted in 2005, and was extradited last week from Vancouver. In the plea agreement, Emery admits that he and his co-conspirators Michelle Rainey and Gregory Keith Williams operated a marijuana seed-distribution business known as Marc Emery Direct. Read more »

By. Jacob Hunter

 

Free Marc Emery Campaign activists occupied Conservative MP Gary Lunn's office today, as part of an ongoing campaign of sit-ins inside Conservative MP offices. The Weed Guy, Jacob Hunter, Nicole Seguin and Craig Gracey came over from Vancouver to demonstrate that only 4 people can occupy an office, even far from their home.

 

Also today offices were occupied in two Ontario ridings, as well as another in BC. More occupations are expected each day this week.

 

Mr Lunn's staff and the local RCMP were very friendly, welcoming activists into the office. Neither staff or RCMP took issue with right to protest inside MP's offices.

 

For more information check out the live video of the RCMP from inside the office: Read more »

By RACHEL PUNCH THE SUDBURY STAR

 

About 40 pot smokers and their supporters gathered at Memorial Park in Sudbury on Saturday afternoon as part of a day of protest across the globe in support of Marc Emery -- Canada's so-called Prince of Pot.

 

"I'm really happy everyone came out today," said Kayla Guse, one of the organizers of the Sudbury rally. "It's to create awareness about what happened with Marc Emery and his extradition and pretty much to show the government that we are not going to sit around and do nothing."

 

Rallies to support Emery were held in more than 100 locations in 11 countries on Saturday.

 

Emery, a Vancouver-based promarijuana activist, was extradited to the United States on Thursday after Justice Minister Rob Nicholson gave the green light. He sold seeds over the Internet to people in the U.S.

 

He faces five years in jail in exchange for pleading guilty. Canadian authorities have known about Emery's seed-selling business for a long time and have, for the most part, ignored it. Read more »

By. BBC News

 

Canada's so-called "Prince of Pot" has been brought to the US where he is expected to plead guilty to selling marijuana seeds to US customers.

 

Marc Emery allegedly sold millions of marijuana seeds around the world by post.

 

He was ordered extradited by Canada's Minister of Justice Rob Nicholson on 10 May.

 

Mr Emery arrived in Seattle, Washington state, on Thursday and is expected to plead guilty on Monday.

 

Richard Troberman, Mr Emery's attorney, told the Associated Press news agency that his client would plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to manufacture marijuana in exchange for an agreed sentence of five years in prison. Read more »