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By Charlie Smith, Georgia Straight Read more »

By Jodie Emery, Cannabis Culture

 

I received a note on my Facebook wall from Mark Radford in Ontario, alerting me to the fact that Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, the man who will decide if Marc can serve his sentence in Canada, was having a meet-and-greet in Toronto on Tuesday, July 27th. It was the perfect opportunity to ask Vic Toews about Marc!

 

The event was hosted by the St. Paul's Conservatives at "The Twisted Kilt" pub, where Conservative Party supporters (and the public) could pay $10 to get in and listen to Vic Toews speak, and then grab a beer or two and mingle amongst the people and influential individuals attending. Read more »

By Szandor Blestman, Weekly Blitz

 

When I was growing up, I learned in school that one of the reasons the United States of America was better than the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was because we didn't hold political prisoners in our jails. That was something the bad, bad communists did. That was something that was done in communist countries to keep dissidents in line and to silence them. Such a thing could never be done in America. I don't know if this is still taught in the schools, but if it is then I believe our children are being grossly misinformed. The United States of America has become the leading nation when it comes to jailing its citizens, and the vast majority of them have been jailed for non violent crimes. We are, in effect, being jailed by the political class for disobeying rules they have deigned necessary, not for actions that have harmed another human being or his property. Most of those jailed are, in effect, political prisoners.

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He has lost over 15 pounds since being moved from his regular cell on June 3 after unknowingly breaking a prison rule by recording a telephone message to his supporters.

Emery's supporters view the punishment as an excuse to silence a successful political activist who has been a thorn in the side of government officials and drug policy makers for years.

On Thursday, June 3, officials at the SeaTac Federal Detention Center in Washington gave Emery an official citation for allowing his wife, BC Green Party Director-at-Large Jodie Emery, to record a message from him over the phone, claiming it broke the prison's rule forbidding third-party calls. Emery was locked in a Segregated Housing Unit (SHU) and denied access to books, television, the telephone, or contact with his wife and family.

On June 24, an internal "disciplinary hearing" was held for Emery. The Disciplinary Hearing Officer said he realized that Emery didn't know he was breaking a rule (as it wasn't explicitly stated in the rule book), but told him he can't do third-party political lobbying over the phone. Emery has been denied phone access until July 25, but is allowed access to electronic mail and to have visits.

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By Kim Murphy, Los Angeles Times

 

Reporting from Vancouver, Canada — For years, his seed catalogs were scrutinized by discerning cannabis cultivators across the U.S. and Canada, much like the ladies of Cumbria might fuss over Chiltern's inventories of sweet peas and heirloom tomatoes.

 

There was Blue Heaven pot, capable of producing a "euphoric, anti-anxiety high," or Crown Royal, whose "flower tops come to a flat golden crown, sparkling with gems of THC," or Hawaiian Sativa, with its "menthol flavor that tingles the taste buds and tickles the brain."

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Today (June 9), MP Libby Davies (Vancouver East) sent the following letter to Minister of Foreign Affairs Lawrence Cannon on the issue of the solitary confinement of Marc Emery. Read more »

By Tamara Baluja, The Province

 

B.C.’s self-styled Prince of Pot, Marc Emery, has been put in solitary confinement for “unknowingly” breaking a rule, his wife says.

 

Jodie Emery told The Province on Wednesday that her husband has been put in Security Housing Unit (SHU) at the SeaTac Federal Detention Centre on June 3 after she recorded a phone conversation with him meant for public broadcast.

 

“He was immediately remorseful,” said Emery, adding that her husband did not realize he had done anything wrong until he was served an offical citation.

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