Marc Emery: Turning 50 And Facing Five

The strong backlash against me going to jail or being extradited has been very sharp and pronounced across Canada, in editorials, open line shows, call in programs, letters to newspapers, politicians speaking out on my behalf.

I met former Vancouver Mayor Philip Owen on Seymour Street today and he told me, "You have been right about this legalization all along...these damn Americans in Washington, DC keeping this drug war going. You shouldn't spend five days in jail, let alone five years."

This was the Mayor who ran me out of town in 1998 and told the New York Times I was "toast", but since that time, Mr. Owen became a very articulate and knowledgeable anti-prohibitionist. This is the first time we had ever spoken as friends though. I used to go before him at City Council and urge him to stop funding the "Growbusters" police unit, and to defend HEMP BC's business license. I also ran against him in 1996 for Mayor.

All three of Vancouver's recent Mayors (Philip Owen, Larry Campbell, and Sam Sullivan) have all spoken (Campbell) on my behalf or have promised to speak out on my behalf (Owen, Sullivan). The imminent possibility that I would get five years custody in Canada and the US over these seed charges blows people's minds here. So change does happen, but as you can see, sometimes it takes a decade or more of concerted principled work. But we can convert our adversaries and it is being done.

Ron Paul Republicans like me are trying to be examples for others who want liberty. Liberty will not come easy or cheap. It never does, and few men and women in our lifetime really appreciate the fragility of our individual liberty and choices.