News (Media Awareness Project) - Canada: 'Prince of Pot' Sentenced to Three Months in Jail |
Title: | Canada: 'Prince of Pot' Sentenced to Three Months in Jail |
Published On: | 2004-08-20 |
Source: | Edmonton Journal (CN AB) |
Fetched On: | 2008-08-22 01:32:04 |
'PRINCE OF POT' SENTENCED TO THREE MONTHS IN JAIL
11th Drug-Related Conviction
SASKATOON - A man known Canada-wide as the "Prince of Pot" and the
founder of the B.C. Marijuana party and Cannabis Culture magazine was
sentenced to three months in prison Thursday after pleading guilty to
one count of trafficking the drug.
It was the eleventh drug-related conviction for Marc Emery, but the
first time he has been sentenced to jail time. He'd received fines for
his previous offences.
Emery seemed stunned after Saskatoon provincial court Judge Albert
Lavoie pronounced the sentence.
"Three months for one joint?" he asked the gallery before a bailiff
shushed him.
Emery was arrested at Saskatoon's Vimy Memorial bandshell on March 22
following a pro-pot speech at the University of Saskatchewan.
Crown prosecutor Frank Impey told the court that between 20 and 30
university-aged people showed up at the bandshell with Emery. A
witness interviewed by police confirmed seeing Emery pass one joint,
but no money changed hands.
Emery produced four marijuana cigarettes containing a total of 2.3
grams when searched by police.
Impey conceded the amount of marijuana in question was small, but
emphasized Emery's 10 prior drug offences warranted more than a
suspended sentence or a fine.
"Mr. Emery has been fined in the past, and his behaviour continues,"
said Impey, who suggested an incarceration of three to six months.
Emery's lawyer, Leanne Johnson, stressed her client was making a
political statement and he did not profit from passing the joint.
Johnson also argued the public attitude towards marijuana has changed,
noting that Prime Minister Paul Martin plans to reintroduce
legislation to decriminalize possession of small amounts of the drug.
But Lavoie cut her off.
"I'm not here to discuss the pros and cons of marijuana," he
said.
In his sentencing, Lavoie said his job is to uphold the laws of the
land until such time as they are changed. "No democratic society can
have any freedoms unless the underlying value is respect for the law,"
he said.
"(Emery's action) was in a public setting, with an absolute,
unacceptable flaunting of the law of this country, deliberately done.
In that respect, Mr. Emery has overstepped the bounds of the
fundamental basis of our society."
11th Drug-Related Conviction
SASKATOON - A man known Canada-wide as the "Prince of Pot" and the
founder of the B.C. Marijuana party and Cannabis Culture magazine was
sentenced to three months in prison Thursday after pleading guilty to
one count of trafficking the drug.
It was the eleventh drug-related conviction for Marc Emery, but the
first time he has been sentenced to jail time. He'd received fines for
his previous offences.
Emery seemed stunned after Saskatoon provincial court Judge Albert
Lavoie pronounced the sentence.
"Three months for one joint?" he asked the gallery before a bailiff
shushed him.
Emery was arrested at Saskatoon's Vimy Memorial bandshell on March 22
following a pro-pot speech at the University of Saskatchewan.
Crown prosecutor Frank Impey told the court that between 20 and 30
university-aged people showed up at the bandshell with Emery. A
witness interviewed by police confirmed seeing Emery pass one joint,
but no money changed hands.
Emery produced four marijuana cigarettes containing a total of 2.3
grams when searched by police.
Impey conceded the amount of marijuana in question was small, but
emphasized Emery's 10 prior drug offences warranted more than a
suspended sentence or a fine.
"Mr. Emery has been fined in the past, and his behaviour continues,"
said Impey, who suggested an incarceration of three to six months.
Emery's lawyer, Leanne Johnson, stressed her client was making a
political statement and he did not profit from passing the joint.
Johnson also argued the public attitude towards marijuana has changed,
noting that Prime Minister Paul Martin plans to reintroduce
legislation to decriminalize possession of small amounts of the drug.
But Lavoie cut her off.
"I'm not here to discuss the pros and cons of marijuana," he
said.
In his sentencing, Lavoie said his job is to uphold the laws of the
land until such time as they are changed. "No democratic society can
have any freedoms unless the underlying value is respect for the law,"
he said.
"(Emery's action) was in a public setting, with an absolute,
unacceptable flaunting of the law of this country, deliberately done.
In that respect, Mr. Emery has overstepped the bounds of the
fundamental basis of our society."
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