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Stay Of Charges Against Pot Activist Paves The Way For
Pubdate: Fri, 06 Jan 2006
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2006, The Globe and Mail Company
Contact: http://www.globeandmail.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Camille Bains, Canadian Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)
STAY OF CHARGES AGAINST POT ACTIVIST PAVES THE WAY FOR U.S. EXTRADITION
VANCOUVER -- A lawyer for pot activist Marc Emery says the federal
government's decision not to proceed with drug charges against his
client clears the way for his possible extradition to the United
States and means Ottawa is kowtowing to the Americans.
Kirk Tousaw was commenting on the recent stay of three conspiracy
charges filed against Mr. Emery by a private citizen to thwart U.S.
efforts to extradite him on charges of distributing marijuana seeds
to Americans by mail.
David McCann filed the charges last September, saying it would be
hypocritical of Canada to participate in U.S. officials' efforts to
prosecute Mr. Emery for activities condoned here for years.
Mr. Tousaw said the extradition wouldn't have gone ahead if Mr. Emery
and his co-accused, Michelle Rainey-Fenkarek and Greg Keith Williams,
were prosecuted in Canada. "I'm concerned when our government acts as
an arm of the U.S. drug war and has an opportunity to reassert
Canadian sovereignty but refused to do so," he said. Mr. McCann said
he doesn't understand why the federal government would participate in
the extradition request when it largely ignored Mr. Emery's
activities, and Health Canada referred patients needing medicinal
marijuana to him.
Mr. Emery and his associates were arrested in July after police
raided his pot paraphernalia store as part of an 18-month
investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Mr. Emery, dubbed the Prince of Pot by U.S. media, returns to B.C.
Supreme Court next month to set a date for his extradition hearing.
A judge can only recommend extradition. The final decision rests with
the federal Justice Minister.
"I thought that what happened would happen," said Mr. Emery, who was
originally from London, Ont. "But I'm still a little crestfallen."
A Crown prosecutor was not available to say why the government stayed
the drug charges.
Mr. Tousaw said Justice Minister Irwin Cotler could have blocked the
extradition by allowing the private prosecution to go forward.
Meanwhile, another private citizen who also filed conspiracy charges
against Mr. Emery last August for the same reasons as Mr. McCann is
waiting to find out what will happen with his case.
The charges by Paddy Roberts of South Slocan, B.C., include
conspiracy to manufacture marijuana, distribute the drug and money laundering.
While criminal conspiracy charges are typically handled by the
provincial Crown, the federal government has tried to intervene.
That prompted Mr. Roberts to file a writ of prohibition to stop
federal prosecutors from intervening and possibly staying the charges
to allow the extradition hearing against Mr. Emery to proceed.
Mr. Roberts, who spent several months in a Dutch jail several years
ago pending extradition to the U.S. on his own drug charges, said a
lawyer took on the case at no cost.
"The implications, if we don't win, are very, very serious," said Mr.
Roberts, chairman of the separatist Bloc British Columbia Party.
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