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Emery Busted in Vancouver on Behalf of USA Government


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Friday » July 29 » 2005

Vancouver police raid pot business

Broadcast News

Friday, July 29, 2005

CREDIT: Ted Rhodes, Calgary Herald

Marc Emery, head of the B.C. Marijuana Party.

VANCOUVER -- Police have raided a Vancouver business run by the head of the B.C. Marijuana Party.

And it looks like the raid was ordered by the U.S.

Leader Marc Emery was not at the marijuana seed store when it was raided by police today.

But police say he has been arrested in Halifax.

A store employee says police arrived with a search warrant this morning.

The charges outlined in the warrant indicate it is on behalf of the American government.

Emery and two other people are accused of conspiracy to manufacture marijuana, conspiracy to distribute seeds, and money laundering.

The search warrant named Emery, Gregory Williams and Michelle Rainey-Fenkarek. Bennett said Williams was taken into police custody at the store on Friday while Rainey-Fenkarek was arrested at her home on Thursday night.

Police were not immediately available to comment on whether any arrests had been made.

The store, named Toker's Bowl, is adjacent to the New Amsterdam Cafe where people have been smoking marijuana openly for years.

Several people gathered outside the store to protest the raid, many holding anti-American signs.

Police sealed off the store and covered the windows with paper while they conducted their search.

The search warrant sets out a long list of requests made by the United States to the Vancouver police department.

In the warrant, the U.S. alleges that those named in it have conspired to manufacture marijuana, conspired to distribute marijuana seeds and conspired to engage in money laundering.

The warrant requests that police seize cash and receipts, client lists and other records identifying purchasers of goods from Emery, and employee records, including applications for employment.

It also asks for business and company incorporation documents, leases, rental agreements, computers, hard drives, diskettes and CD-ROMS.

© Broadcast News

Copyright © 2005 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest Global Communications Corp. All rights reserved.

http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=5a85a01f-2632-4cb6-9a88-4fc53b9ee4a4

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To be perfectly honest, it makes no sense to me that the US government was behind this.

It has NOTHING to do with the Patriot Act, as it has no force or effect in this country.

I can only assume that the US Governmemnt was the "complainant" as in any other criminal matter, and the VPD acted pursuant to that complaint. (I suspect, however, that if a less-influential "complainant" had issues with what Emery was doing, the VPD would have just as likely laughed it off...)

:thumbdown: :thumbdown: :thumbdown: :thumbdown: :thumbdown: :thumbdown:

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Crazy...

That store up there has some pretty questionable stuff for sale. But the freedom of the pot block is so special, I really hope it isn't jeopardized.

They shipped a lot of seeds to the states, which would be why the americans wanted to bust em.

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Oh yeah, this'll really help the battered and bruised Canada-US relations. Way to go Republicans, you've made me dislike you more - not for bustin potheads, but for once again sticking your fat, ugly nose where it doesn't belong.

Fuck off U.S. Government!

signed,

Canada

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So, I just learned more about this. As Bassie said, Emery sent lots of seeds to the US. For that reason, the US DEA wants him busted for conspiring to produce marijuana in the US, and they want him extradited to be tried down there. So, he is not being busted in Canada at all. He is being charged in the United States for a crime allegedlly commited in the US.

Basically, the Vancouver PD was acting as agents for the US authorities, and I guess now the only issue is whether we'll extradite him to be tried in the US pursuant to American law, or not.

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I'm not a big fan of some of Emery's tactics either but he's also done a lot of positives for the pot movement in Canada and, jesus christ, he doesn't deserve to end up rotting in an American jail cell. I pray Canada doesn't extradite him. Major fucking bullshit.

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If you were to run an illegal website operation from Canada, and you were charging people for your illegal service (porn, selling seeds, whatever) using credit cards, the US would have the full authority to nail you.

I read something recently about that and I was actually blown away. Credit cards bind you to US laws.

Was Emery's business selling online?

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I don't know if it was online, or mail-order, but it wouldn't matter. If he is exporting a product into another country that is illegal in that country, the other country has a right to charge him pursuant to their own laws.

The grey area is Canadian authorities assisting, but that is probably just being done out of "comity" to respect the laws of other sovereign states. The big issue is the extradition, because we won't be prosecuting him criminally in Canada for crimes in the US, but we can send him there to face the music, and that seems to be where we're left with the matter now.

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Yes but... Should Canada extradite Emery to the States where the laws governing pot are archaic and draconian compared to our own? Don't we have a moral responsibility to represent the voice of common sense and say "you're on your own" to the States? I understand the cross-border assistence thing, but that's for catching real criminals - murderers, rapists, CEO's etc.. What about the seeds coming from Amsterdam? Or anywhere else?

The demand will always get supplied and there are no victims in this crime, except for the odd American pothead not being able to score.

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