Mark Emery Fined $5,000 for Distributing Marijuana
A federal court in Montreal has formally fined well-known marijuana activist and entrepreneur Mark Emery $5,000, following charges brought against him in 2016 related to the operation of his stores, which distributed therapeutic marijuana in violation of national and regional laws. Fortunately for Emery, the court dropped more serious charges, such as running a criminal organization and large-scale drug possession. Now, free from further legal obligations, the activist can simply pay the fine and continue with his activities.
Prosecutors involved in the case noted that Emery received only minor sanctions due to the upcoming federal legalization, which will effectively legalize his business that currently operates in a legal gray area.
Emery on the “Catastrophic” National Legalization Plans
“Since marijuana will soon be legalized nationwide, we decided not to apply the full severity of the current laws to Mr. Emery,” prosecutor Philippe Valérie-Roland told reporters. For Canada’s most famous marijuana activist, a $5,000 fine is a minor punishment, considering everything Emery has endured as a supporter of marijuana reform and a gray-market therapeutic marijuana dealer.
After his release, Emery was openly critical of the Quebec provincial government. “Montreal leads probably the most corrupt province in our country, whose lackeys pay no attention to the demands and wishes of the people they supposedly represent,” he told journalists on the courthouse steps. “There is no real freedom in Quebec, thanks to such tyrants in power.”
Emery’s sharp remarks reflect his strong libertarian ideology. He believes that both provincial and federal governments are more interested in restricting the future marijuana market than in regulating it, effectively undermining the reform. According to Emery, despite decades of discussion and nearly four years of work on the national reform project, the government’s planned legalization will result in the collapse of the legal marijuana distribution system.
He is particularly frustrated that the Trudeau administration wants to allow provincial authorities to regulate the marijuana business within their own jurisdictions. Emery believes this will lead to a repeat of Quebec’s scenario across the country, where the government plans to distribute legal marijuana through a public company that owns and regulates a network of state-run marijuana stores.
“Such a system won’t provide consumers with simple and accessible sources of legal marijuana. At best, each province will end up with its own sluggish marijuana monopoly.”
Emery’s History of Conflict with Canadian Police
Since the early 1990s, Mark Emery has been known among Canadian activists as the “Prince of Pot Legalization.” Together with his wife and fellow activist Jodie Emery, Mark founded Cannabis Culture, opening a network of retail marijuana stores in Canada’s largest cities.
Currently, retail marijuana distribution is strictly prohibited by Canadian law. As a result, police have repeatedly shut down Emery’s establishments, confiscating profits and products. Despite these actions, Emery and his team have always managed to stay afloat. If police closed one of his stores, Mark would simply open a new one elsewhere. According to Emery, this system of “civil disobedience” has been an effective tool in changing public attitudes toward marijuana and its use. At its peak, Cannabis Culture operated 19 stores across Canada.
The court’s recent fine relates to a 2016 case, when several of Emery’s stores in Montreal were closed during a police raid. On December 16, 2016, Mark, his wife, and several employees were detained by Montreal police at the Cannabis Culture regional office in Quebec.
Emery has faced even more serious legal troubles in the past. In 2005, ten years after opening the seed bank Marc Emery Direct Marijuana Seeds, Canadian police arrested and extradited him to the United States at the request of the DEA, which accused him of producing and internationally distributing narcotics.
The DEA vs. Emery
In the 2000s, the U.S. DEA considered Mark Emery one of North America’s most prominent “drug barons.” Then-U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft called Emery “the leading international exporter of marijuana to the United States,” according to current DEA head Karen Tandy.
After Emery’s 2005 arrest, the DEA released the following statement: “Today, the director of Cannabis Culture, marijuana activist, and editor-in-chief of the magazine of the same name, Mark Emery, was extradited from Canada to the United States. His arrest will deal a serious blow not only to the underground marijuana seed industry but also to the marijuana reform movement in both Canada and the U.S.”
After several years of legal proceedings, in 2009 a U.S. federal court convicted him of producing and distributing marijuana. As a result, from 2009 to 2014, Emery spent time in various American and Canadian prisons.
New Charges and Emery’s Future Plans
Two years after his release, Mark and Jodie Emery fully restored the Cannabis Culture network. In 2016 alone, the company opened six new stores in Montreal, which led to new legal issues.
In early March 2017, the Emerys were detained by police at Toronto International Airport, when Ontario police attempted to charge Mark with offenses similar to those brought by Quebec authorities. The next day, Toronto police conducted a large-scale raid on the company’s stores in the city. The stores were closed, and all products and $250,000 in cash were seized. According to police, given the amount of contraband found, the stores likely worked with underground commercial marijuana growers rather than producing the plants themselves.
Currently, Mark and Jodie are free on bail. The court has strictly prohibited the couple from possessing or using marijuana without a doctor’s permission. They are also forbidden from approaching their stores until the trial concludes. In December 2017, a federal court gave them a conditional sentence of up to two years, along with ongoing sanctions and restrictions.