Pubdate: Mon, 24 Jul 2006
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2006, The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.globeandmail.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Tiffany Crawford, Canadian Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Marc+Emery
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Renee+Boje
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Marijuana - Canada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

JOINT TOGETHER -- IN HOLY MATRIMONY

Pot Activist Emery's Bride Knows He's Likely to End Up in U.S. Jail

VANCOUVER -- Marc Emery, Canada's so-called Prince of Pot, got married
yesterday to a woman who apparently doesn't mind that her husband
could spend large parts of their marriage in court or in jail as part
of his mission to legalize marijuana.

"I will support him no matter what happens in any situation," Jodie
Emery, 21, said shortly after the wedding. "I'm just so happy right
now to be married to him."

She said she married Mr. Emery, who has been arrested 21 times,
knowing full well he may spend many years in a U.S. jail.

Her new husband, 48, heads the B.C. Marijuana Party and publishes
Cannabis Culture magazine. He is currently charged with selling
marijuana seeds to Americans through the mail, conspiracy to
manufacture pot and conspiracy to engage in money laundering.

He was arrested last July along with Michelle Rainey-Fenkarek and Greg
Williams after police raided Mr. Emery's pot paraphernalia store in
Vancouver after an 18-month investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration.

The wedding took place under a white tent in Vancouver's Queen
Elizabeth Park where about 100 guests sat in suits and dresses passing
around joints.

Blue skies and a garden of flowers were the backdrop for the
nuptials.

"I can't imagine a more perfect day," Mr. Emery said.

After the ceremony, the bride, wearing a long, white strapless wedding
dress, lit up what she called a "wedding doobie."

The Emerys then shared, in front of a crowd of reporters, their first
joint as husband and wife, inhaling the smoke and then kissing.

"I am so lucky to be married to such a young and beautiful woman," the
groom said.

When asked how the two will cope if he gets extradited to the U.S.,
Mr. Emery said he was upbeat.

"We don't talk about it really. I don't know what will happen to our
relationship if that happens, but we just want to focus on getting out
the message," he said.

The activist said he'll continue to challenge the U.S. war on
drugs.

Mr. Emery claims to be the first marijuana-seed vendor to sell seeds
directly over the Internet. Over 10 years, he claims to have sold
about $15-million worth of seeds.

A date for the extradition hearing will be set Aug. 21 in B.C. Supreme
Court.

In 2004, he spent 62 days in a Saskatoon jail for trafficking after
passing a joint at a marijuana rally. That's where he and his new
bride grew closer because she transcribed his blogs from jail, he said.

"We grew closer and spent more time together and that was
it."

He has said his lawyers told him he has a 98-per-cent chance of being
extradited.

Renee Boje, a Californian pot activist also fighting extradition to
the U.S., attended the ceremony.

"That was just the loveliest wedding," Ms. Boje said, noting she hopes
the couple will get to stay together in Canada. "I think Marc is going
to end up staying, but I think there needs to be a lot more public
support and pressure on the government." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake