THE PRINCE OF POT

When it comes to the law, things tend to be black and white: guilty
or innocent, prosecution or defence, criminal or victim. But we all
know that in reality some people are a little bit guilty, while
others are guilty as hell.

Whether you believe Marc Emery is "a little bit guilty" or "guilty as
hell" is as good a test of your socio-political views as anything.

Emery, popularly know by his self-coined moniker "the Prince of Pot,"
is set to plead guilty to drug trafficking charges next week in a
Seattle courtroom. It's expected that he will be sentenced to between
five and 20 years in prison.

Canadian police and American law enforcement agents arrested Emery
and two associates in August 2005, and charged them with distributing
marijuana seeds to clients in the U.S. Emery was the primary target
in the raid because of his decade-long campaign to end the criminal
prohibition against cannabis in North America - a campaign which has
included conducting several speaking tours, making three unsuccessful
attempts at running for mayor of Vancouver, founding the B.C.
Marijuana Party, and publishing the bimonthly Cannabis Culture magazine.

Canadian law enforcement agencies knew of Emery's seed business but
had not arrested him since 1998, when he was fined $2,000 for
distributing seeds. Since then, Emery has, as a "marijuana seed
vendor," paid provincial and federal taxes totaling nearly $600,000.
In fact, according to the Vancouver Sun, Health Canada even
recommended medical marijuana patients buy their seeds from Emery.

It seems then that Emery has been operating in a sort of bizarre
middle ground - tacitly accepted by the government as long as they
don't have to acknowledge it publicly.

Now I'm not going to bother wasting much of your time with an
argument about drug legalization. I believe marijuana should be
legal, and I've yet to hear an anti-marijuana argument that doesn't
rely on shoddy science, baseless speculation, or misguided morality.
If alcohol and tobacco are legal, then logically marijuana should be as well.

Unfortunately, logic seems to be a dirty word for the Canadian
government. Despite the fact that the B.C. Court of Appeals has ruled
that a one-month jail sentence and probation would be an acceptable
sentence for selling marijuana seeds, the government has refused to
prosecute Emery in Canada. Even though the majority of his business
was conducted in the Great White North, Emery will be sentenced to a
minimum of five years in prison under U.S. law. In this case, as in
so many others, this government has demonstrated a reluctance to
assert autonomy in its relationship with the U.S.

We've all broken the law. We're all a little bit guilty. We drink
before we reach the legal age, we drive faster than the speed limit,
and we illegally download music and movies online. As a society we
have decided that these things, despite being illegal, are generally
acceptable, and so we don't pursue criminal charges against the
millions of people who flout these laws. Marijuana usage falls into
this frustratingly inconsistent category - in some respects it's
accepted by law enforcement agencies, while in others it's still
viewed as an evil aspect of our society.

It's time for the inconsistency to end. Marc Emery matters because
he's being charged in a country with illogical and unfair drug laws
for "crimes" he also committed in Canada. If we consider Emery a
criminal, let's charge him under Canadian law. If not, then let's
stop kowtowing to the wishes of our morally bankrupt southern neighbour.

There's no doubt Marc Emery is a little bit guilty - one of the many
Canadians who occupy the grey area in our legal system. It's just
unfortunate that in this case, our government has chosen to see
things in black and white.