Pubdate: Wed, 20 Aug 2014
Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
Copyright: 2014 Times Colonist
Contact: http://www2.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/letters.html
Website: http://www.timescolonist.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481
Page: A8
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?196 (Emery, Marc)

PRINCE OF POT CARRIES BAGGAGE

Justin Trudeau made a bold move by hitching the federal Liberal wagon 
to the campaign to legalize marijuana. But does he really want Marc 
Emery sitting up front with a hand on the reins? Emery, who calls 
himself "Prince of Pot," returned to Canada last week after spending 
four years in a U.S. prison, and almost as soon as his foot touched 
Canadian soil, he pledged his support to Trudeau and the Liberals. 
His wife, Jodie, plans to run for the party in the election that is 
expected next year.

After a rapturous greeting by hundreds of supporters, the longtime 
activist seems convinced that he can turn the election campaign into 
a national referendum on the legalization of pot.

"This is the most historic election for our culture because never 
before has legalization been on the ballot," he said.

That depends on how important you think marijuana is to history - and 
to voters. He thinks it's important enough to rally as many as three 
million voters to sway the outcome of the election.

Emery argues that the main political parties differ little in their 
policies on many of the top issues, but with marijuana, the Liberals 
can stand apart.

The differences might appear slight when viewed through a haze of pot 
smoke, but to those with clear heads, the parties have quite 
different takes on how the government should be run and what it 
should do. They think voters care about jobs, the economy, health 
care, the environment.

To believe, as Emery does, that all those concerns can be pushed 
aside is a leap most people would find hard to make.

Despite Emery's rhetoric, legalization isn't on the ballot. There 
will be no referendum question, and Canadians can vote only for 
individual candidates.

Voters cast their ballots for complex reasons, and it's rare that 
postmortems can point to specific events or issues that turned the tide.

But perhaps he is right, and the possibility of legalization will 
motivate people across the country to back a party pledged to get rid 
of laws that have turned thousands of Canadians into criminals 
without halting the flow of drugs. Is Emery the man Trudeau needs to 
help make it happen?

Emery is a living argument against the notion that smoking pot drains 
the user's ambition. He says he has been arrested 28 times for 
breaking marijuana laws, including his just-completed sojourn as a 
guest of the American government.

He landed a five-year prison sentence after he was extradited to the 
U.S. in 2010 and pleaded guilty to selling marijuana seeds from 
Canada to American customers. He got out early for good behaviour.

None of his run-ins with the law have dampened his enthusiasm for his 
cause, which he maintains is about more than marijuana.

"It's not just about getting stoned," said Melissa Zorn, one of the 
supporters who greeted him in Vancouver. "The message is freedom of choice."

Emery's involvement might mobilize supporters of legalization, but 
it's also likely to galvanize opponents - with the federal 
Conservatives leading the charge.

Already, Emery's promise to battle the Conservatives at the ballot 
box has stirred the kind of response that will bedevil him and 
Trudeau in the months ahead.

Steven Blaney, federal Minister of Public Safety and Emergency 
Preparedness, said: "While the Liberals would try to make it easier 
for our children to access marijuana, Canadians can count on our 
government to put forward policies that keep drugs off our streets 
and keep our families safe."

The government is going to paint Trudeau as the ally of drug dealers. 
Having a convicted drug supplier as one of his most vocal supporters 
is going to make the Tories' job much easier.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom