FIVE-YEAR JAIL TERM ENDS MARC EMERY'S 30-YEAR POLITICAL CAREER

Sentenced to five years behind bars, Canada's Prince of Pot, Marc
Emery, was led off to an American penitentiary Friday repenting his
seed-selling sins and professing love for his wife.

"I love you, Jodie!" he mouthed silently to her as he was led
away.

There may be a place for and time for a debate over the legalization
of marijuana, the judge told him, but this is not the time or the
place -- marijuana is illegal.

In a beige prisoner's jumpsuit, Emery sat throughout the 15-minute
hearing with his hands folded under his chin.

His wife, Jodie Emery, sat stoically in the public gallery with about
40 supporters, press and undercover law-enforcement officers.

Seeds traced to growing operations in every region of the U.S. were
linked to Emery, according to the prosecution, and the original Drug
Enforcement Administration news release called Emery one of the "most
wanted international drug trafficking organizational targets -- one of
only 46 in the world and the only one from Canada."

Judge Ricardo Martinez, of the Western Washington District Court, told
the 52-year-old Vancouver businessman that he had grown up along the
Canadian border and was saddened by what illegal drugs have done to
both countries.

"I regret the example we set," Emery told him, "and I won't be doing
that again.

"I'd like to point out though that it made it sound like I'm a bad guy
. but I had very good intentions and wanted to be considered a
proper participant in our society. I do believe that these prohibition
laws create a lot of problems and create organized crime."

It was a sad emotional end to a 30-year public career by the staunch
libertarian most Canadians considered a benign and charismatic
political prankster.

The U.S. prosecutors said he was the "largest [pot seed] distributor
in North America and at least the largest into the United States ...
no doubt he sold millions of marijuana seeds that produced millions of
marijuana plants in the U.S."

Outside the federal courthouse, a small group protested his
sentence.

Emery said he now realizes some of the methods he chose to fund his
efforts to repeal the marijuana prohibition were "ill-conceived and
ultimately destructive."

In a letter given to the judge before sentencing, Emery said he was
"overzealous and reckless" and "acted arrogantly in violation of U.S.
federal law."

"I regret not choosing other methods -- legal ones -- to achieve my
goals of peaceful political reform."

It sounded as sincere as Galileo's confession.

Emery has been a political activist for three decades -- fighting
Sunday business-closing laws in Ontario, Canada's national ban on drug
literature and, of course, the marijuana prohibition.

A Canadian citizen and president of the B.C. Marijuana Party, Emery
has run for office several times.

In furtherance of his goal of legalizing cannabis, for many years he
sold marijuana seeds around the world through catalogue sales.

"This was not a business that operated underground, or even in the
shadows," Richard Troberman, Emery's lawyer, told the court.

"On the contrary, Marc openly operated his seed distribution business
[Marc Emery Direct] from a storefront in Vancouver, British Columbia,
Canada, as well as over the Internet; through telephone sales; direct
mail sales; and through other media outlets. Revenue Canada gladly
accepted taxes on all of his sales, which were duly reported to the
appropriate taxing authorities. Virtually all of the profits from the
business went to funding lawful efforts to legalize marijuana in
Canada and the United States through the political process."

Crown counsel in Canada refused to prosecute Emery, but under the
former Republican presidency the U.S. ramped up its war on drugs and
targeted Emery because of his political profile.

"The attorney-general's true motive -- which was to silence Mr.
Emery's political activity -- could not be more clear," Troberman said.

Emery was indicted in Seattle on May 26, 2005 for conspiracy to
manufacture marijuana and arrested in Halifax on an extradition
warrant a few days later. He was held in custody from Aug. 2 through
Aug. 5, 2005. Emery remained free until September 2009, when a
tentative plea bargain was reached and he surrendered himself into
custody Sept. 28.

He remained imprisoned in Canada until Nov. 18, when he was released
to await the justice minister's final determination of his
extradition. On May 10, Emery was told the minister had refused his
last-ditch appeal and he went back into jail. He was transported to
the U.S. on May 20 and has remained imprisoned since.

Emery admitted selling more than four million seeds, 75 per cent of
them to U.S. customers.

He asked to be housed in the federal correctional institution at
Lompoc, Calif., so he can continue to be visited by his wife. The
judge recommended that. After his sentencing, Emery's lawyers
delivered a request to the Canadian consul for a prison transfer to
Canada. His B.C. lawyer, Kirk Tousaw, said that if all went well,
Emery could be serving his time in a Canadian institution within a
year.

"I received hundreds of letters and e-mails, most of them favourable
to you," Judge Martinez said.

"One in crayon," he quipped, "others quite well written, very
thoughtful, making some very interesting points. I know five years is
a long time. I wish you the best."