'KING OF POT'S' PUNISHMENT WAS NO SURPRISE

Nobody should shed any tears for Canada's self-proclaimed "Prince of
Pot."

Marc Emery was escorted out of B.C. Supreme Court and into jail Monday
to await extradition to the U.S., where he could serve up to five
years in prison for shipping marijuana seeds across the border.

Emery was indicted in 2005 along with two associates on drug and
money-laundering charges stemming from a lucrative mail-order pot-seed
business run out of Emery's Vancouver book and paraphernalia shop,
which doubled as B.C.'s Marijuana Party headquarters.

In March 2008, the federal government decided to turn down a plea
arrangement, which would have had him serve his time in this country.

Emery repeatedly broke both Canadian and American laws. This country's
legal system did not have the gall to arrest him for openly smoking
marijuana in public, selling marijuana seeds and encouraging others to
break Canada's marijuana possession laws.

Regardless of what people think about Emery's impending jail time in
the United States, nobody forced him to send his seeds across the border.

He did so willingly, knowing he was breaking the law in that country
and he did it for profit, regardless of his claims of a more selfless
motive.

As far as American authorities are concerned, Emery is nothing more
than a drug pusher.

He could have faced life imprisonment but Emery decided to sign a plea
deal for a five-year sentence in the American federal prison system.

Those who think Canada should not allow the Americans to extradite
Emery need to realize that extradition treaties work both ways. They
are a tool that allow Canada's law-enforcement agents to request
American authorities hand over people who may have broken Canadian
law, either on our soil or theirs.

Many passionately argue that possessing pot should not be
illegal.

That is not the issue in Emery's case.

The issue is this country's obligation to live up to the terms of the
extradition treaties we have signed with the U.S. and other countries.

We certainly wouldn't like it if an American citizen used the Internet
to lure a Canadian minor into the U.S. Canadians would be outraged if
American authorities refused to hand over such a person and they would
rightly point to the extradition law and say the U.S. was obligated.

Let's face it, Emery's never-ending grandstanding created a dilemma
for the Canadian government. He forced the Conservative government's
hand and may have actually helped them prove they are living up to
their law-and-order election promises.

As the leader of B.C.'s Marijuana Party, it is ironic Emery has become
a political pawn and not a politician in his crusade to decriminalize
pot.

And make no mistake about it, he is a pawn in the political chess game
waged by liberals and conservatives on both sides of the 49th parallel.

It was the previous American administration, led by George W. Bush,
that indicted Emery in 2005. Bush was first elected to office in 2001.

Emery started selling his seeds across the line for many years before
that.

To make matters worse for the pot crusader, a few months after the
Americans issued their indictment, Stephen Harper was elected prime
minister.

Still, he continued to put himself in the spotlight, daring
authorities to do something about his blatant disregard for both
countries' drug laws. Emery led rallies in Vancouver and urged others
across the world to partake of his favourite weed.

His misguided supporters consider him a martyr for the cause of
marijuana decriminalization. He is nothing of the sort. Emery is a
calculating businessman who flouted the law.

His punishment should be a surprise to no one.