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Street roots li May 13, 2011 7 [ m k PRINCESS, from page 1 U.S. would be able to take him away when he never left Canada. And that’s what made it such a big deal when it happened in 2005. Canadians were offended — our sovereignty had been breached. So it’s clear the reason why Marc was targeted — it s not because of the danger of the seeds, (but because of his activism)* S.C.: Where do you guys see the next step? How will you approach your activism now? J.E.: I think we need to continue stressing the importance of our sovereignty as a country. Marc and I have been heavily involved in elections and in political campaigns because, (Conservative Primp Minister) Stephen Harper is really doing a lot 6f bad things to Canada, and that inipacts everybody. Marc and I, in our activism, help people who are being hurt by the government, that’s what our brand of activism is about. It’s to protect people from the oppressive government force that’s being used against peaceful, non-violent people. And so that extends'to a lot of other things. This government is really adopting a lot of U.S. policies, especially with a lot of Christian, right-wing influences. So that’s reflected in a lot of the policies that Harper has introduced. I think when Marc was arrested that was the first time it was really obvious that our governments were working together in really sinister ways to sell out a citizen. So Marc and I have been really pushing for a change in our government and to get people involved in more In our activism, we help than just people who are being hurt by supporting him, but to support our the government, that's what countryand our onr brand of activism Is democracy before about. It's to protect people from the oppressive government force that's being used against peaceful, non-violent p e o p le .... This government is adopting a lot of U.S. policies, especially w ith a lot of Christian, right- wing influences. So that's reflected in a lot of the policies that H arper has introduced. . S.C.: Vancouver’s 4 /2 0 (marijuana) rally last month was the biggest it’s ever been. A n d yet marijuana laws were never mentioned in the federal election. J.E.: I think that’s because Harper is s o , steadfast against it. He doesn’t ever , get face-to-face with someone who doesn’t agree with everything he thinks, so he’s never going to get-asked the marijuana question-it’s just a dead issue in the water to him. When you go and ask the other leaders, they’re hesitant to say they want to make it' legal because they know that will turn off a lot of people. What surprises me is that the other leaders often seem to be trying to get the Harper supporters instead of trying to appeal to the people who do want it legal. The majority of Canadians want it legal, but no leader is willing to say it because they feel Harper would use it against them. So we’re trying to educate (marijuana supporters) and remind them all that every single one of them is a target of Harper. They and everybody else is at risk under this government so they’ve got to give a damn. This government is introducing laws to put (users and growers) in prison. That’s scary. We need to get our movement more focused on preserving ourselves and our safety instead of celebrating because it’s not time to celebrate yet Things have gone backwards since Marc was extradited. J.E.: I kind of forgive the political parties for trying to dance around legalization and so for me I’d rather see the lesser evil in power rather than the more evil evil. I know with Harper there’s not a chance that we’ll have any progress at all, not a chance.' With the Liberals you know they S.C.: What changes has the Harper government made to m arijuana laws? | J.E.: Harper changed the definition of a serious drug offense to include any marijuana offenses. So that means trafficking a joint That means possessing personal weed. They changed it from being over three kilograms to include all of i t When they define something as a serious offense it gives police the ability to wire tap without needing the approval they normally have to go through. They are allowed to refuse you bail and they are allowed to seize your property. What that means is that right now it’s possible that the police could go to every house of someone that’s growing pot and charge themunder a serious offense, which is usually reserved for organized crime — these are people who just have a couple of plants in their closet. So that’s a lot of resources and money badly being misused and it’s based on the U.S.-style.- Harper also introduced mandatory minimums and that means that judges, even if they get a medical marijuana grower in front of them, have to sentence them to ascertain ariiount of time. There are a lot of other laws that are being introduced that are targeted toward cannabis users. Harper declared a culture war on marijuana use-one that he wants to get rid of i t That’s his plan — he’s dead set against the marijuana culture. P H O T O B Y SAQIE SEA. S.C.: On the one hand the government is creating more punitive laws, but on the other the Ontario ¿Superior. Court recently ruled that current m arijuana cultivation an d usage laws are unconstitutional. J.E.: That’s where the courts are on our side. That’s one of the things we need to do before Harper stacks all the Supreme Court7 with much harsher and more conservative _ judges* This judge in Ontario found that Matthew Mernagh was being blocked by doctors to get marijuana. The government has to fix the program to make marijhana widely available. That means doctors can’t say no. That means naturopaths could do. it, or that means compassion clubs could license. It means more access. The other option is that it will just be taken out of the law and we won’t have any regulations or laws whatsoever. That’s the preferable option to many of us, we’d prefer no laws Or regulations whatsoever, but if medical marijuana users need access we’re going to have to have some sort of system set in place. Either way I think it’s a good result The government did appeal it, however, and they will fight tooth and nail to make sure that they restrict medicinal marijuana access as much as possible. But as long as judges | keep finding that they’re hurting people who don’t need to be hurt anymore, that’s a good thing. S.C.: You did n ’t run in this federal'election fo r the Green Party fo r personal reasons and instead threw your support behind sLiberalM P U jjalD osanjh. While Dosanjh has helped fig h t M arc’s extradition, the Liberal Party is against decrim inalizing marijuana. How do you c o ffe e bean in t e r n a t io n a l We tip our m ugs to Coffee Bean International fo r donating coffee to Street Roots and keeping our vendors warm in the morning! Thank you! balance that contradiction? could be persuaded with maybe arguments about money or arguments about what middle Jody w ith her husband Marc Canadians want. T he NDP is certainly far Em ery. M arc was moreopen and~accessibleinto doing what the -people want. So even thoughT personally consider myself a small “c” conservative libertarian and I like Jack Layton and the NDP the best, I certainly need the Conservatives to have fewer seats than last time around. !S.C.: You've been involved in the movement fo r quite some time with Marc. B u t now that he’s behind bars, how do you feel about becoming the face and voice o f cannabis activism in Canada? arrested in 2005 by C anadian a authorities oh behalf o f the United States fo r selling cannibis seeds in the United States. Jody has picked up the banner on m arijuana rights after M arc began serving his five-year sentence last year. J.E.: Marc was really preparing me for this all along* I ’ve taken a tot of lessons from him but I’ve also learned a tot myself, especially with him being gone. He spent a short term in 2009 in Coquitlam. When he was gone I had to run tiiis place by myself and it was hard. I had to learn how to do that,, but I’ve gotten much better at it My whole life, even in elementary school or high school, I’ve always been a „ spokesperson. It’s come pretty easily for me. I don’t think too highly of myself, I’m always honored and humbled when somebody wants to talk to me. When somebody wants an interview I’m always grateful for that opportunity. I try to represent people well and I’m told that I do, so I keep frying to do whatever it is I’m doing right For more inform ation about Jodie a n d M arc Emery, visit FreeMarc.ca a n d C annabisCulture.com . 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