I would like to remind all of you that Marc Scott Emery (5 posts above me) has a very personal stake in seeing Ron Paul elected. It's so personal that it could mean the difference between freedom and a life sentence.
Marc has been charged with selling marijuana seeds in Canada before, back in 1999. But he didn't face jail time, not for weeks, months, or years... no, he plea bargained and paid a $5,000 fine -- no jail time, no probation, no community service.
The Americans consider Marc Scott Emery, to be one of the most wanted drug kingpins in the world – responsible for 1.1 million pounds of marijuana (slightly less than 500,000 kilograms) worth over three billion dollars. The Americans consider one seed to equal one plant to equal one kilogram.
Canada considered him harmless and accepted over half a million in income taxes from 1995-2005 with “marijuana seed vendor” listed as his occupation. Emery’s profits were used to fund the anti-prohibition movement in Canada and the US.
Every time Emery was featured in a positive light in American popular media, such as in stories by CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and two features on 60 minutes, the DEA had Canadian authorities raid his shops and arrest him. Charges were dropped, fines were paid (if any fines were laid) and Emery went back to selling seeds.
After his July 29, 2005 arrest, the head of the DEA, Karen Tandy, released a memo indicating that the arrest “is a significant blow not only to the marijuana trafficking trade in the US and Canada, but also [to] the marijuana legalization movement.”
The DEA wanted Emery for his political activity and his “propagandist” magazine, Cannabis Culture.
Emery’s extradition hearing is scheduled to begin on January 21, 2008.
Back to Ron Paul... should Marc manage to get his extradition proceeding going all the way to January 2009, there's no doubt in my mind that the new Ron Paul administration would stop the charade dead in its tracks and let this great man keep the freedom he so obviously deserves.
Keep your spirits up Marc, Canada (and a growing segment of the US) are with you!
http://forums.cannabisculture.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=45&page=1