No Extradition for Marc Emery

[Guest TrueMetis]

Like I said, it's total disrespect for our laws,

Not all of your laws deserve respect.

and I think he did it expecting to be protected by the fact that he's in Canada and would have to be extradited. The fact that MPs are now calling for his protection is an invitation for anyone in Canada to break America's laws.

Being in Canada means you are subject to Canada's laws, not America's.

Great...$200...for each count.

Drop in the bucket, think of how many times he got raided for millions worth of seeds and other things. He even listed his job as a marijuana seed vendor and paid $600,000 in taxes between 1998 and 2005.

Edited March 17, 2010 by TrueMetis

[Smallc]

We are guilty of the same thing we have been critical of Americans for in the past, the idea that they should be able to do things in the rest of the world the same as in the good old US of A. We are every bit as bad, just a lot more smug.

I'm not sure what you're talking about. The Canadian government hasn't done anything in this case. We haven't done anything.

[Guest TrueMetis]

Because he committed his crime in the US.

Unless I'm serverly mistaken I don't think Emery ever actually sold in the U.S. He probably sold to Americans and may have even mailed to America, but that isn't the same to doing it in America.

[Smallc]

I don't think Emery meets that standard, but, in theory, it's not necessarily always an affront to justice and civilization to deny extradition requests.

That's exactly the way that I feel. It doesn't matter if we do something or don't, I really don't care. I simply don't think it's fair to say that we have to always do everything another country with an extradition treaty with us wants, or that our MPs aren't free to voice an opinion.

[ToadBrother]

That's exactly the way that I feel. It doesn't matter if we do something or don't, I really don't care. I simply don't think it's fair to say that we have to always do everything another country with an extradition treaty with us wants, or that our MPs aren't free to voice an opinion.

As I said, Canada has already made this clear as far as countries making extradition requests for people who could face the death penalty. Now, that's a far cry from Emery, but still, there is precedent, and it is precedent that the United States recognizes. The bar should not be set low for such things. Clearly the vast majority of extradition requests, Emery's likely included, do not pass that line, but some small number will.

[DrGreenthumb]

Unless I'm serverly mistaken I don't think Emery ever actually sold in the U.S. He probably sold to Americans and may have even mailed to America, but that isn't the same to doing it in America.

Marc Emery has never BEEN to America.

[Jack Weber]

Supporting dr. Greenthumbs values the MP's are patriotic, when following anyone elses they are vile bourgeoisie moral less sub humans.

I'm not interested in supporting dope heads,but that's a little harsh...

[Guest TrueMetis]

Marc Emery has never BEEN to America.

Even better.

[Wilber]

I'm not sure what you're talking about. The Canadian government hasn't done anything in this case. We haven't done anything.

Let's keep it that way and let the courts do their job.

[DrGreenthumb]

According to the poll on CBC's Power and Politics, about 92% of Canadians disagree with the Conservative viewpoint on this. Only 7% of the voters think Emery should be extradited, and 92% think he should remain in Canada. 1% were undecided.

[Battletoads]

I don't see why Canada should extradite citizens to face trial under moronic and insane laws

[eyeball]

You'd have to be a particularly loathsome sort of person to defend the actions and inactions of our governments or think Emery deserves what's coming to him.

It's 2010...it's unbelievable. I would never have imagined prohibition would have dragged on anywhere near this long.

[Jerry J. Fortin]

The government needs to charge Emery under Canadian law and avoid the extradition issue altogether. To not do so would be bad political optics that will not bring Canadians into Harpers fold, a political blunder that could come back to haunt him.

[Sir Bandelot]

I would never have imagined prohibition would have dragged on anywhere near this long.

The "war on drugs" has become an industry unto itself. There's billions of dollars tied into it, and thousands of jobs, police, judges, guards and prisons holding thousands or even millions of drug war prisoners. Peoples livelihoods depend on it. Ending prohibition would have a substantial economic cost. It is part of the very lifeblood of the US economy. The land of the free

Edited March 17, 2010 by Sir Bandelot

[Jerry J. Fortin]

The "war on drugs" has become an industry unto itself. There's billions of dollars tied into it, and thousands of jobs, poice, judges, guards and prisons holding thousands or even millions of drug war prisoners. Peoples lihoods depend on it. Ending prohibition would have a substantial economic cost. It is part of the very lifeblood of the US economy. The land of the free

So is the military industrial complex. We don't have that issue in Canada and to equate our society with Americas in terms of the "drug war" amounts to the same thing, we are not them.

[M.Dancer]

Unless I'm serverly mistaken I don't think Emery ever actually sold in the U.S. He probably sold to Americans and may have even mailed to America, but that isn't the same to doing it in America.

Not according to US postal law.

Same goes for telemarketers who use boilerrooms in canada to defraud americans...

[Sir Bandelot]

So is the military industrial complex. We don't have that issue in Canada and to equate our society with Americas in terms of the "drug war" amounts to the same thing, we are not them.

Thats true in theory, but money is what really talks. There is little hope of Canada dropping it's own prohibition laws, as much as the people of Canada and even previous governments wanted to do, as long as the war on drugs is so important to America.

Even if there are many in the United States who would like to see prohibition come to an end, the country is so polarized by what looks like mass media hysteria in almost every issue, they are become democratically paralyzed. Witness the hype and rhetoric of the recent health care debate.

Not that we don't have the same problem in our politics of course, but there are things I believe we as a nation would like to do, that seem reasonable and forward thinking, but can't because of obligations to our international "partners".

Edited March 17, 2010 by Sir Bandelot

[eyeball]

Not that we don't have the same problem in our politics of course, but there are things I believe we as a nation would like to do, that seem reasonable and forward thinking, but can't because of obligations to our international "partners".

And yet...I suspect if we look closer we'd probably find that marijuana laws are actually just as relaxed if not more so in several states compared to Canada.

[ToadBrother]

You'd have to be a particularly loathsome sort of person to defend the actions and inactions of our governments or think Emery deserves what's coming to him.

It's always delightful to see how you frame your statements.

At any rate, Emery knew full well the nose he was tweaking, and I see no reason to make any special effort to defend such an arrogant fool.

[Guest American Woman]

The court of appeal ruled that the appropriate sentence for selling seeds is a 200 dollar fine in Canada. Not exactly something considered worthy of harsh punishment. Marc's business operated in Canada. People from all over the world ordered seeds online. They are the ones who should be held to account for breaking the laws of their own countries. In Canada we can download songs, etc all we want, we pay a tax on the blank cd's and recordable media. If an American kid downloaded a song from a Canadian through a file shareing service like Limewire, should we extradite the Canadian to the states to face charges? I don't frickin think so.

You don't frickin think so, eh?

I suppose the U.S.. should allow Americans to illegally mail guns to Canadians, too, since we don't agree with your gun laws. Makes perfect sense. Someone makes millions selling guns to Canadians from the United States, no big deal. After all, they've never set foot in Canada. In fact, if our government makes a lot of money in taxes off the deal, like in Emery's case, so much the better.

[DrGreenthumb]

You don't frickin think so, eh?

I suppose the U.S.. should allow Americans to illegally mail guns to Canadians, too, since we don't agree with your gun laws. Makes perfect sense. Someone makes millions selling guns to Canadians from the United States, no big deal. After all, they've never set foot in Canada. In fact, if our government makes a lot of money in taxes off the deal, like in Emery's case, so much the better.

I'm pretty sure in that scenario the US would charge the person themselves, like Canada should do with Marc Emery. I know Canada would charge the importers. I seriously doubt the US would extradite one of its citizens to another country for an infraction as minor as selling pot seeds. The Americans actually care about THEIR sovereignty

[eyeball]

You don't frickin think so, eh?

I suppose the U.S.. should allow Americans to illegally mail guns to Canadians, too, since we don't agree with your gun laws. Makes perfect sense. Someone makes millions selling guns to Canadians from the United States, no big deal. After all, they've never set foot in Canada. In fact, if our government makes a lot of money in taxes off the deal, like in Emery's case, so much the better.

If this was any other country the US government would be regarding us as a narco-state and be shipping weapons to some group of paramilitary insurgents, probably based in Alberta.

[Guest American Woman]

I'm pretty sure in that scenario the US would charge the person themselves, like Canada should do with Marc Emery. I know Canada would charge the importers. I seriously doubt the US would extradite one of its citizens to another country for an infraction as minor as selling pot seeds. The Americans actually care about THEIR sovereignty

First Canada would have to be able to find the importers, because I'm guessing some of those guns would be delivered without Canada's knowledge. Then, when those Canadians started selling the guns in Canada, it would create more of a problem for Canadian law officials, would it not?

Would it matter that they were being sold out of the U.S. by someone who never set foot in Canada? Would it make any difference if they were physically in Canada, and then went back to the U.S.? I fail to see what difference it would make.

We can charge the importers, but same as in Canada, it's the dealers the government wants to go after. Stop the dealing and the problem becomes much smaller. It's much easier to go after one big fish than a large number of little fish, and more time and cost efficient as well. I'm sure Canadian officials would rather stop the importer of said guns than have to find all the hundreds/thousands of buyers they'd been delivered to, and then the people that these buyers sold to.

Btw, I don't see where Marc Emery was charged with the U.S. sales, so perhaps you could point that out to me. But here's the thing, if the person selling guns could sell them at a gun show in the U.S., why should we charge him for selling them to Canadians, just because your laws don't allow that? That's what you're asking in regards to Emery.

You act as if selling the pot seeds is such a little thing, but he didn't just mail a packet of seeds here and a packet of seeds there. He was running a multi-million dollar business, and 75% of his sales were in the U.S., so the infraction isn't quite as minor as you try to make it out to be.

Edited March 17, 2010 by American Woman

[Guest American Woman]

At any rate, Emery knew full well the nose he was tweaking, and I see no reason to make any special effort to defend such an arrogant fool.

My feelings exactly. Emery chose to break the law, knowing the consequences, so it makes me wonder why Canada would protect him under such circumstances. He wasn't naive. He wasn't uninformed. He wasn't taken advantage of. He knew full well what the consequences were and went ahead with it anyway. Why Canada thinks he deserves protection from the consequences is what I don't understand.

I don't necessarily agree with all of Canada's laws, but if an American were arrogant and stupid enough to knowingly break one of your laws to make millions, and knowingly created problems for your law officials in the process, I would think it insane if our government were to protect that person from the consequences.

[Shady]

Norway for example, has outlawed the life sentence.

Source?