Well-known marijuana activist, Marc Emery, sentenced to 3 months in jail

[Nambe]

SASKATOON (CP)

One of Canada's best-known marijuana activists was sentenced Thursday to three months in jail after pleading guilty to trafficking when he passed a joint to a supporter last March.

Marc Emery, president of the B.C. Marijuana Party, was charged with trafficking after he spoke at a political rally at the University of Saskatchewan in March.

Emery's lawyer said the sentence is too strict for simply passing one joint to one person. ..

"Marijuana is the most beautiful, perfect plant ever put on this earth. I'm a great devotee of it and that won't change, no matter what a judge would sentence me to." ..

[jeff30997]

1. And Rush Blimpbutt is not in jail !

[Cha]

3. Good Point! Damn imbalance!

[Trillo]

4. What do you expect? Rush had accomplice of licensed physicians!

It's self-medication that's the real control-freaks' issue.

Edited to add:
That's why there's no talk of importing cheap Mexican pharmaceuticals

[al bupp]

9. You got that right!

Unless, of course the "self-medication" in question happens to contain an "OH" group somewhere on the end of it. No hypocracy here, now move along.

[Just Me]

19. Ummm,...drugs (even the worst) are okay as long as,...

,...they line the power-mongers pockets.

Yes?

[kaos]

2. "Marijuana is the most beautiful, perfect plant ever put on this earth.

The dude needs to get a life.....

[LauraK]

5. Have you ever lived with a pot plant?

I don't smoke, but there really is something very special about them. Seriously, he's not completely off the map. If you don't put the buds in your birthday cake, they produce really pretty yellow flowers. I tend to compromise.

[kaos]

8. You don't smoke?

So should you comment?

[Swamp Rat]

18. Why can't she comment?

Does someone HAVE to smoke pot to be able to comment about hemp?

[Swamp Rat]

6. Why do you say "the dude needs to get a life?"

Do you think political activism is not a part of living?

[kaos]

13. Do you think political activism is not a part of living?

Of course it should be part of life political activism.
Marc is making a living by being a stoner....Dude needs to get a life.

[Swamp Rat]

16. Do you know him? Have you gone to his speeches?

Can you please enlighten us as to how you know he is "making a living as a stoner?" You know, folks could say the same thing about people who post on DU... they probably do.

You still haven't answered why you think this guy "needs to get a life." You posted an ad homonym, but give us nothing with which to agree or disagree.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

66. He is a vocal advocate for a law change

Is that the same thing as "being a stoner"?

[Zhade]

7. You're obviously ignorant about marijuana's literal thousands of uses.

Thankfully, millions of people worldwide aren't so ignorant.

:)

I predict it will be legalized in our lifetime, out of sheer necessity - for its medicinal, textile, fuel, and myriad other purposes.

[kaos]

11. I predict it will be legalized in our lifetime

Yes it will,but it will be controlled by the government.
It will taste like Budweiser....

[Zhade]

12. I doubt it. After all, people micro-brew all the time!

They'll never be able to monopolize marijuana - THANK GOD.

[jeff30997]

14. Up here in Canada, the government...

Is growing medicinal marijuana and every users agree that it's crap.

[kaos]

17. crap

This is what happens when you depend on the gov..

[kaos]

15. They'll never be able to monopolize marijuana .

Well then they won't legalize it.......

[Zhade]

20. I know, it's a Catch-22.

Of course, the War on (Some) Drugs has done nothing to stop marijuana use or growth, just shifted a lot of harmless people to prison for using a substance the government allowed us to grow in our backyard during WWII.

If Americans have any sense, and a lot of luck, we'll get past this Prohibition bullshit. It doesn't work, it isn't freedom, and it's a waste of money, time, and people's lives.

[mitchtv]

29. you need to smoke a fatty

and get over whatever the hell your problem is

[dweller]

23. it's an amazing and very useful plant

and quite hardy too. Which leads me to this humorous tale. (sorry for the threadjack...)

I spotted a plant growing along the roadway here in my little rural neighborhood in the most obvious place, about 50-60 feet in front of my neighbors drive, more or less in his yard, but close enough to the road that passes by that it could have been a tossed away seed. But then again, could have been a stupidly placed planting since it was too near traffic, out in the open, etc. I passed it one day while walking the dog for his usual morning constitutional, and thought :wtf: ?
There were 3-4 plants, one fairly large the others really small, beginning to bud out.
So i kept an eye on them for a few days walking each day, and since my neighbor (who was out of the country at the time) partakes, i couldn't rule out that it was a mistaken sprouting, but it was waaaaaay too obvious for safety. It wasn't hidden, but there is enough other growth around, it didn't stand out unless you were really close to it.

So he shows up home after a several more days (i watch his home for him while he's away) and i went to check in with him, and tried to casually bring it up. I didn't want to appear accusatory, just wanted him to be more careful if he was propagating. He acted suprised, i pointed it out from the window of his liv.room, and he walked out and looked at it, and burst out laughing and jerked them out of the ground and brought them in.

It turns out, the previous winter/early spring, the police (local and town over from us) showed up at his house due to a witness i.d.'d his car backing into another in a parking lot and driving off. He says he hit a cart or thought so, etc. Regardless, he was expecting some friends at the same time, had just burned one, and yelled out 'come on in' and in walk the cops. The local takes his bag, and walks out to the road and dumps it and grinds it in the dirt in the spot the plant sprouted up in, that i found later. He paid the damages for the parking lot incident, and they let him off on the possesion, it was really the dirt end of the bag he claimed, mostly seeds :D.

So we had a laugh that the cops were responsible for cultivating on our property. I guess he smoked up 'the evidence'.

dp

[Webster Green]

10. Oh please!

He is absolutely correct about the cannabis plant. It is an amazing plant, both in its taxonomy and its relationship with humans.

As someone who got very intimate with the species during my 15 years of guerrilla botany in Humboldt County, California, I share his opinion that it is the most beautiful perfect plant ever put on this earth.

[mike_c]

21. and a big emerald triangle "Howdy!" from the Humboldt Nation....

"Guerrilla botany" indeed.

:smoke:

[Webster Green]

22. Howdy , Humboldt Nation!

I do miss it sometimes, but Sonoma is pretty awesome.

Southern Humboldt got a little too crazy for me. I was there during the hay-days of the late-seventies, eighties, and early nineties. Definitely an experience to remember.

Here's to smoking the bomb!:smoke: :nuke:

[shanti]

33. ^5 neighbor!

:-)

[SHRED]

24. Marijuana is the most beautiful, perfect plant ever put on this earth.

And so much more.
See my sig links.

[Almost_there]

26. Can hemp be used for food?

Seriously, as the "most beautiful, perfect plant ever put on this earth", you'd think you could gain sustenance out of it. Clothes are nice, as is fuel, (albeit Ethanol is a better fuel source), and hemp is fine for clothes (albeit cotton feels a crapload better), and rope is nice (though I would NEVER climb with a hemp roap), other than medicinal uses, these things are more "nice side tricks" that hemp produces.

If you could eat hemp in someway and get nutritional value, you might have an argument, but, its like saying a steam locamotive is the best way to get around, because it runs on steam! Sure, but, you need lots of track, it only goes on the track, steam engines actually run off of coal, and they are loud as hell.

Other than THC, not much the cannibas plant produces is spectacularly unique. So, I must respectfully disagree as to its "perfection" as a plant.

Plus, yes, marijuana is a gateway drug. That's my opinion, but, seeing someone who started smoking weed ratchet up to coke, then the big H, and then a fun time shotgun! whooppee! Weed is fine! It don't do nuthin' man! Sorry, I will forever think that a stoner by any other name is still a stoner. And sure, toss me 10,000 case studies that weed doesn't harm anyone, but, you will never convince me.

~Almost

[mitchtv]

32. birds can be fed with the seeds

then eaten.

[shanti]

34. you've obviously never been

to a hempfest...it's definitely edible. hemp bars, hemp ice cream.. yum!

[SHRED]

44. Yes it is food

http://www.ratical.org/renewables/hempseed1.html

http://www.rawganique.com/Food.htm

http://www.dailybread.co.uk/food/hemp.htm

http://www.hemp.co.uk/html/nutinfo.html

http://www.jackherer.com/chapter08.html

[akitamata]

46. I won't bother

trying to convince you, as you are obviously quite fond of your opinion. I also won't tell you my life story, because it would probably make you feel dumb. But, based on actual experiences, I can proudly declare that marijuana has made my life almost exactly what I had envisioned on almost all counts. I would add I have reared a family, held a career in the artworld and museums, have worked for numerous wealthy art-collectors and am currently bruinging my art/visions to life with considerable monetary reward. But then, what would one expect from a stoner. I laugh at your bias and wish you a quarter ounce of Northern Light, Kali Mist or Bubblegum...Experience is the best teacher/government propaganda and the examples of misfits are not...akita

[akitamata]

47. I won't bother

trying to convince you, as you are obviously quite fond of your opinion. I also won't tell you my life story, because it would probably make you feel dumb. But, based on actual experiences, I can proudly declare that marijuana has made my life almost exactly what I had envisioned on almost all counts. I would add I have reared a family, held a career in the artworld and museums, have worked for numerous wealthy art-collectors and am currently bringing my art/visions to life with considerable monetary reward. But then, what would one expect from a stoner. I laugh at your bias and wish you a quarter ounce of Northern Light, Kali Mist or Bubblegum...Experience is the best teacher/government propaganda and the examples of misfits are not...akita (from inside the gate)

[Cheswick2.0]

73. I wont bother telling you my life story as it will make you feel dumb

I guess being stoned is not inconsistent with the life style of an artists, but it's not so great for other professions.
I could tell you lots of stories about people whose lives would be better off if they hadn't used marijuana on a regular basis.

[neohippie]

72. Gruel could be made from hemp

Cheap abundant food source, for the poor, throughout history.

Excerpt from the following website.

http://www.totse.com/en/drugs/marijuana/162273.html


2a) How can hemp be used as a food?

Hemp seed is a highly nutritious source of protein and essential fatty oils. Many populations have grown hemp for its seed -- most of them eat it as `gruel' which is a lot like oatmeal. The leaves can be used as roughage, but not without slight psycho-active side-effects. Hemp seeds do not contain any marijuana and they do not get you `high.'

Hemp seed protein closely resembles protein as it is found in the human blood. It is fantastically easy to digest, and many patients who have trouble digesting food are given hemp seed by their doctors. Hemp seed was once called `edestine' and was used by scientists as the model for vegetable protein.

Hemp seed oil provides the human body with essential fatty acids. Hemp seed is the only seed which contains these oils with almost no saturated fat. As a supplement to the diet, these oils can reduce the risk of heart disease. It is because of these oils that birds will live much longer if they eat hemp seed.

With hemp seed, a vegan or vegetarian can survive and eat virtually no saturated fats. One handful of hemp seed per day will supply adequate protein and essential oils for an adult.

2b) What are the benefits of hemp compared to other food crops?

Hemp requires little fertilizer, and grows well almost everywhere. It also resists pests, so it uses little pesticides. Hemp puts down deep roots, which is good for the soil, and when the leaves drop off the hemp plant, minerals and nitrogen are returned to the soil. Hemp has been grown on the same soil for twenty years in a row without any noticeable depletion of the soil.

Using less fertilizer and agricultural chemicals is good for two reasons. First, it costs less and requires less effort. Second, many agricultural chemicals are dangerous and contaminate the environment -- the less we have to use, the better.

2c) How about soy? Is hemp competitive as a world source of protein?

Hemp does not produce quite as much protein as soy, but hemp seed protein is of a higher quality than soy. Agricultural considerations may make hemp the food crop of the future. In addition to the fact that hemp is an easy crop to grow, it also resists UV-B light, which is a kind of sunlight blocked by the ozone layer. Soy beans do not take UV-B light very well. If the ozone layer were to deplete by 16%, which by some estimates is very possible, soy production would fall by 25-30%. We may have to grow hemp or starve -- and it won't be the first time that this has happened. Hemp has been used to `bail out' many populations in time of famine. Unfortunately, because of various political factors, starving people in today's underdeveloped countries are not taking advantage of this crop. In some places, this is because government officials would call it `marijuana' and pull up the crop. In other countries, it is because the farmers are busy growing coca and poppies to produce cocaine and heroin for the local Drug Lord. This is truly a sad state of affairs. Hopefully someday the Peace Corps will be able to teach modern hemp seed farming techniques and end the world's protein shortage.

[Almost_there]

25. This does sound a bit out there...

I mean, if he were talking about some rare tropical plant that flowers once a year, or something classically beautiful as opposed to something nicknamed "weed"... It just sounds like he has some love issues related to his herb.

[kaos]

27. Weed.

Dude needs to get a life!!

[Sterling]

41. Yes you said that already.

Same for people who waste time double posting opinions no one really finds interesting the first time.

[TrogL]

67. Double-posts are a bug in the software

Get over it.

[kimchi]

54. He has a life, advocating for something he feels strongly about.

Lots of us "stoners" have lives. We are otherwise law abiding and patriotic citizens: doctors, lawyers, archaeologists, and parents.

I try to get along with those who put substances in their bodies that I don't agree with. Not all drinkers are drunks, and not all smokers go on to use hard drugs. Nor are they lazy, addicted, or mentally ill. Might want to read up on the benefits of marijuana in relieving pain and nausea. Or you could continue to agree with your government's harassment of its citizens. After all, the government would NEVER lie to us.

[Dragonfly]

70. Am applauding your post because...

"truth" on the issue is a simple and effective theme, as nicely presented by your clear, stand-up take on a plant dear to me, as well.

Mr. Emery's approach is unique and impassioned; the inherent ridiculousness viewed in so much negative focus on such a healing entity (where a person can even get arrested for passing a little joint) gives one reflective pause.

Thanks for your insightful, caring sentiments.

[kimchi]

74. You are so very welcome my friend. n/t

[goodhue]

65. pot, meet kettle

[DrWeird]

42. Actually it's a very beautiful plant.

Even if they weren't illegal and narcotic, people would be growing them as ornamental plants.

[telamachus]

45. Narcotic??

I think not. Sounds like the anti-marijuana rhetoric has gotten into your head.
Narcotics are opiates THC is not an opiate.

:)

[DrWeird]

52. Fine. Psychoactive.

Although if you want to get techinical, "narcotic" often applies to opiates but often applies to any illicit drug. Particularly those that induce sleep, drowsiness, or mellowness.

[TrogL]

68. Unlikely - you wouldn't believe the stench

Pot plants reeeek bigtime.

[mitchtv]

28. He's got my vote

a little exageration , quizas, but it is a great plant

[shanti]

31. he's right

the list of cannabis benefits is endless...

[AndyTiedye]

37. There Was A Time When Growing It Was The Patriotic Duty of Every Farmer

Hemp was a very important strategic material. That's what rope was made of,
and the Navy needed lots of rope for their sailing ships.

Paper was made of hemp, including the paper the Constitution and the
Declaration of Independence were written on.
If they had been printed on modern paper, they probably would not still be around today.
Hemp paper is far superior to pulp-based paper in all respects,
but most especially longevity. The production of hemp paper also
consumes less energy and has far less environmental impact overall
than cutting down trees to make paper.

Hemp fiber is a lot like cotton, but stronger. Hemp fabric outlasts
cotton. Hemp could help to fill the large and rising demand for
clothing made from natural fibers. Hemp can grow anywhere cotton
can, and in many places where cotton can't. It does not deplete the
soil as much as cotton does, and it requires less water.

I haven't even gotten to the medicinal uses,
I'll leave that to someone else.

[ecoalex]

56. Industrial hemp and medicinal marijuana are different

Industrial hemp does not have much of the active ingredient ( canibinol ,aka THC - Tetra hydro canibinol). Hemp is great for ropes sails cloth, phycho active cannibis does not make goos paper or fiber for cloth, etc. Levi Strauss sold the 49er gold miners the first denim ( cotton ) trousers , before that many had trousers made from the sails from the ships that brought the miners to Yerba Bueno, or San Franscisco, as it was named later. The ships were stripped for their lumber, and sails for heavy duty purposes. It was said that the hemp trousers lasted 10 x as long as the cotton trousers made by Strauss, but Strauss sold them for about $4, where the hemp trousers sold for $20.

Th current government policy against hemp is asinine, as you wouldn't get high from hemp oil , or smoking yer hat or trousers, yet they persecute hemp vendors, another reason to rid us of the bush scourge, there's no talking to numb skulls.

[Ann Arbor Dem]

69. My grandfather was a farmer in southern Minnesota

until 1950 or so.....his two major crops were hemp and soy beans.

[SheepyMcSheepster]

62. the prohibition of marijuana has is a waste of money and resources

that is the bottom line. we are paying to keep otherwise law abiding citizens in jail.

[goodhue]

63. seems like dude has a pretty cool life

why not try some tolerance
and drop the hostility

[daleo]

30. As a Canadian, I am surprised by the sentence

I thought jail sentences were not given out for such minor possession charges anymore. It sounds like it is his activism that is being punished, more than simple possession. It is ludicrous to have to spend tens seconds in jail for this (or to have to pay a ten cent fine).

[kaos]

35. Stoner.

Marc has nothing else to do..

[hatrack]

36. And you (and I) are posting on a BBS about this guy . . .

What does that say about the lack of anything better WE have to do?

[daleo]

39. The idea that someone has nothing else to do doesn't support a jail term

If that was the case, the government could just round up everyone that seems to have some spare time on their hands.

[Pastiche423]

40. I applaud Marc

Marijuana is a wonderful medicinal plant, especially for pain. It is the only substance I know of that relieves the daily pain of spasms due to paralysis.

My state has passed a medical marijuana law. Unfortunately, finding a doctor that will write a script is impossible.

Here is an answer to my pain and the pain of untold numbers of others - a natural answer and we are forbidden by law and/or by the stupidity/fear of some physicians to relieve our pain.

And that is just one usefulness of marijuana.

[Sterling]

43. I am starting to wonder if you are a paid astro turfer for DARE?

Or the drug czar?? Or some faith based group that now gets federal funds to help fight the drug war.??? Why else would yu post the same opinion three times in one thread about something you don't even do yourself????


If you don't like weed thats your business. More for others who fancy it. No reason to start a crusade in the company of people who enjoy it.

You said your bit know it's just about you trying to piss in the punchbowl. Smoke a bowl, that's really the fastest way to take care of the kind of problem you are having.

[goodhue]

64. how would you know?

eom

[truthspeaker]

48. The charge was "trafficking" (because he passed it to someone else)

not possession.

Goddamn Nazis can find a way to get around de-criminalization if they want to.

[daleo]

51. Of course, I hadn't noticed that bit of legal chicanery

Although, since he didn't get paid anything, it stretches common sense to call it trafficking. By this reasoning any sex act could be construed to be prostitution.

"If the law supposes that" Bumble states, in what has become one of the most quoted lines in Dickens, "the law is a ass - a idiot."

[uncle ray]

58. yes, they've actually said as much.

that they are targeting his activisim. except that marc won't roll over like tommy chong did, he will come back as ten times the warrior he was, and then he'll fuck the judge's wife. and she'll like it.

[DU GrovelBot]

38. ## PLEASE DONATE TO DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND! ##

==================
GROVELBOT.EXE v3.0
==================



This week is our third quarter 2004 fund drive. Democratic
Underground is a completely independent website. We depend almost entirely
on donations from our members to cover our costs. Thank you so much for
your support.

[truthspeaker]

49. here's a joint, Grovelbot!

[CanSocDem]

50. Saskatoon cops are world famous for getting it wrong...

Most recently it was for dumping aboriginal men outside of town in sub-zero (like -30C) tempatures and making them walk home. Some didn't make it.

Of course, their most famous act of malfeasance was back in the 60's when they followed a trail of blood from a murder/rape victim to a house that contained a known, knife-wielding rapist and a pot smoker. They arrested and convicted the pot smoker who spent over 20 years in prison until DNA evidence cleared him and convicted the "knife-wielding rapist".

Remember David Milgard.

[praeclarus]

53. is hemp the same as marijuana?

Hemp good to smoke?

Seems like when people defend marijuana they bring
up the many uses of hemp which I thought was not
good to smoke.

disclaimer: I use neither and don't care if you do,
so flame me not.

[dancing kali]

55. Yes...

The hemp plant and the marijhuana plant are the same plant/weed. There are varieties that are better to smoke and ones that are better used for industrial purposes. While you can make fiber from any of the varieties of marijhuana... you don't get high from all of them.

To use a simple analogy - paper comes from wood pulp - however, are you going to use quick growing soft wood trees like pine for that pulp or are you going to use good hard wood trees like furniture grade walnut or maple? You can make a very nice walnut pulp paper out of sawdust and shavings but it would be a waste of the tree to simply grind the whole thing into pulp to do it.

The leaves are the part of the marijhuana plant that contains the highest amount of THC (the substance that gets you high). The best part of the plant for making fiber is the stem, which contains less THC and is unpleasant to smoke.

Is it a plant or a weed? It's all depends on how you look at it. There is a flower that grows in my yard called campanula (I may have the spelling wrong there) that you can buy in any garden center. It is a fairly uninteresting looking plant as far as we're concerned. If it would remain in the flowerbed, I would have no problem with it. However, it propagates by seed and by root runner and is sprouting all over the lawn. The roots can go down about 1 1/2 feet. If you dig it out, if you have broken off even the tiniest bit of root - that tiny bit of root will sprout a new plant. Napalm at dawn isn't enough to kill this plant. The way I see it... it's a weed. Other people just love it in their gardens and to them it's a pretty plant.

[ecoalex]

57. THC in leaves?????

The buds have the most THC , ask any smoker of the herb.

[dancing kali]

60. You made me drop the pipe...

That's timing... I stand corrected, you are right... the highest concentration of THC is in the buds... I was more concerned with the non euphoric uses of the plant and neglected to include the buds in my comment about THC.

[kimchi]

75. Dancing Kali...

What a beautiful moniker. My avatar picture is of my dear missing cat, Kali Ma. Thank you for reminding me of the times we "danced".

And now, my Plexiglas tube used for inhaling beneficial plants is calling me!

[TrogL]

59. By a wild coincidence

I was at the Edmonton Fringe Festival last night and saw the play "Reefer Madness - a musical". At the end of the performance, the author handed out seeds and Ahknaten won a kit of pipes and screens for correctly stating the full chemical name for THC.

[Pastiche423]

71. Handed out seeds?

Do you know how much seeds go for on ebay?

:wow:

[TX-RAT]

61. In TX, it used to be 10 to life for 1 joint.

[InkAddict]

76. Yeah right, and Michael Riconiscuito ran a Meth Lab?????

Poor Danny...Senator Byrds' passion needs more attention!