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Former U.S. Attorney who prosecuted Marc Emery for selling seeds now lobbying for legalization
The man who put Marc Emery behind bars is now advocating for the legalization of marijuana.
A pro-legalization event Wednesday in Vancouver featured a bizarre pairing at the head table of two important figures in the self-styled Prince of Pot's life - his wife, Jodie Emery, and his prosecutor, John McKay.
"Nearly one million people every year are imprisoned for simple marijuana possession," said McKay, who believes none of those criminals should be serving time.
The former U.S. Attorney, free to lobby for legal changes since he left his job in 2007, said the push for pot changes in America reminds him of the long campaign that led to the eventual legalization of alcohol.
"The Prohibition era provided huge illegal profits for the Mafia and terrible violence," said McKay, pointing to today's ultraviolent Mexican drug cartels. "If that sounds familiar, it should."
McKay noted that both Washington and Colorado will vote soon to legalize small quantities of pot for adults, with another 14 states at various stages in a move to decriminalize pot, essentially issuing the equivalent of a traffic ticket for simple possession.
But McKay made no apologies for Emery's imprisonment.
Emery should have lobbied to change the law, he said, not broken the law in order to get it changed.
"If that was his purpose - to change policy - I think he took the wrong route," said McKay, who put Emery in prison in 2010 for selling marijuana seeds to U.S. customers from his Vancouver headquarters.
"He made a decision that would have given every juvenile in the United States access to marijuana, which I think is wrong."
Emery and McKay sat side by side, extolling the virtues of pot legalization, and afterward The Province asked how they could get along so well, considering McKay sent Emery's husband to jail.
"I think Jodie is a gracious person," said McKay.
"I have no animosity toward her husband at all. I just think he made a mistake."
Jodie Emery was delighted to have someone of McKay's reputation on board.
"It's one thing for a hippie to say he thinks marijuana should be legalized," she said.
"To have someone who's on the front lines, who's seen what's happening, say he thinks marijuana should be legalized, that gives us credibility."
News Hawk - 420 Warrior 420 MAGAZINE
Location: Canada
Source: The Province
Author: Ian Austin
Contact: www2.canada.com
Copyright: 2012 Postmedia Network Inc.
Website: www.theprovince.com
The man who put Marc Emery behind bars is now advocating for the legalization of marijuana.
A pro-legalization event Wednesday in Vancouver featured a bizarre pairing at the head table of two important figures in the self-styled Prince of Pot's life - his wife, Jodie Emery, and his prosecutor, John McKay.
"Nearly one million people every year are imprisoned for simple marijuana possession," said McKay, who believes none of those criminals should be serving time.
The former U.S. Attorney, free to lobby for legal changes since he left his job in 2007, said the push for pot changes in America reminds him of the long campaign that led to the eventual legalization of alcohol.
"The Prohibition era provided huge illegal profits for the Mafia and terrible violence," said McKay, pointing to today's ultraviolent Mexican drug cartels. "If that sounds familiar, it should."
McKay noted that both Washington and Colorado will vote soon to legalize small quantities of pot for adults, with another 14 states at various stages in a move to decriminalize pot, essentially issuing the equivalent of a traffic ticket for simple possession.
But McKay made no apologies for Emery's imprisonment.
Emery should have lobbied to change the law, he said, not broken the law in order to get it changed.
"If that was his purpose - to change policy - I think he took the wrong route," said McKay, who put Emery in prison in 2010 for selling marijuana seeds to U.S. customers from his Vancouver headquarters.
"He made a decision that would have given every juvenile in the United States access to marijuana, which I think is wrong."
Emery and McKay sat side by side, extolling the virtues of pot legalization, and afterward The Province asked how they could get along so well, considering McKay sent Emery's husband to jail.
"I think Jodie is a gracious person," said McKay.
"I have no animosity toward her husband at all. I just think he made a mistake."
Jodie Emery was delighted to have someone of McKay's reputation on board.
"It's one thing for a hippie to say he thinks marijuana should be legalized," she said.
"To have someone who's on the front lines, who's seen what's happening, say he thinks marijuana should be legalized, that gives us credibility."
News Hawk - 420 Warrior 420 MAGAZINE
Location: Canada
Source: The Province
Author: Ian Austin
Contact: www2.canada.com
Copyright: 2012 Postmedia Network Inc.
Website: www.theprovince.com
