Pubdate: Thu, 04 Aug 2005
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 The Province
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouver/theprovince/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Author: Keith Fraser
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?196 (Emery, Marc)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

POT ACTIVIST STAYS IN JAIL, AWAITING THREE GUARANTORS

Supporters of Marc Emery were scrambling yesterday to put together the 
necessary sureties to have him released on bail.

The leader of the B.C. Marijuana Party was arrested in Halifax on Friday 
after U.S. authorities indicted him on drug charges. They are now seeking 
his extradition from Canada.

He was transferred to Vancouver, where a B.C. Supreme Court judge ordered 
that he be released as long as he came up with $50,000 bail.

But Emery was not able to comply with one of the requirements -- that he 
come up with three $10,000 sureties from B.C. landowners. He remained in 
jail overnight.

Kirk Tousaw, the party's campaign manager, said Emery had lined up the 
needed sureties but was unable to secure the final approvals before the 
court registry closed for the day.

Meanwhile, Health Canada denied a suggestion by Emery's lawyer, John 
Conroy, that the federal government has been tacitly approving Emery's 
business selling marijuana seeds.

Conroy said Ottawa was telling people with government exemptions for 
medicinal marijuana that they could purchase the seeds off the Internet, 
with Emery having one such website.

But Chris Williams, a spokesman for Health Canada, said any exempted people 
are able to purchase their seeds from the department and are not being told 
to go online.

Chris Girouard of the federal Justice Department, which is handling the 
extradition, said that under the Extradition Act the government has the 
power to seek extradition on behalf of another government.

Emery, 47, is being sought in the U.S. for allegedly selling marijuana 
seeds that have been used in grow-ops south of the border. He is also 
charged with money laundering
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom