THE GLOBAL REACH OF U.S. LAW

The news that British Columbia (and former London, Ontario) resident Marc
Emery has been arrested at the request of the U.S. government should be a
cause of interest for every Canadian.

Emery was arrested earlier this month in Halifax at the request of the the
U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency under the terms of the Mutual Assistance in
Criminal Matters Act.

U.S. authorities want Emery deported to their country to face charges of
conspiracy to sell cannabis seeds over the Internet. If convicted, he faces
a sentence from 10 years to life in prison.

Emery has thumbed his nose at Canada's marijuana laws for years, having
been convicted nine times. For those offences he has served less than one year.

He has made the decriminalization of marijuana a political issue, heading
the B.C. Marijuana Party. It is that visibility which makes him such an
attractive and important target to American authorities.

Canadian attitudes toward marijuana use are much more lenient than those
south of the border. Vancouver city council is pressing for the
legalization of marijuana while Parliament is considering legislation to
remove criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of the drug.

In the United States, opposition to the drug has at times reached paranoia.

It was only a few years ago when a Chatham-Kent firm had supplies of bird
feed containing hemp impounded for months by U.S. officials even though an
individual would have to smoke a railway car full of the product to obtain
any effect.

It is easy to understand why authorities in various countries need to
co-operate on major crimes. No one would argue that murderers, terrorists
or thieves should be protected in Canada.

The waters become murkier when issues in which two nations disagree are at
the heart of the matter.

It took no less than the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down the anti-sodomy
laws of a number of American states. That was only two years ago.

Without that action would American authorities now also be seeking
extradition of Canadians who may have engaged in such contact while in the
U.S.?

Americans have every right to control what takes place within the
boundaries of their nation.

If they so wished, they could certainly put more stringent controls into
what enters their country or crack down on those who order Emery's products.

It is, in their mind, easier and more cost efficient to seek out the
Emery's of the world.

The question is, how easy Canadian authorities want to make it to enforce
American laws in Canada?