On the morning of May 10, 2010, Marc Emery, the "Prince of Pot," founder of Cannabis Culture Magazine and former cannabis seed vendor, turned himself in to Canadian authorities to face extradition to the United States. The extradition order, signed by the Canadian Justice Minister, requires that Marc be turned over to US authorities to serve a five-year prison sentence ostensibly for selling cannabis seeds online.

There are many online cannabis seed sellers, who have never been arrested or prosecuted for their activities, but the US Drug Enforcement Administration and other law enforcement agencies here have specifically targeted Marc for punishment. Unlike other seed vendors, Marc used his fame and the revenues from his seed business to advocate for and fund cannabis law reform in the US, Canada and around the world. Evidently his activities in support of cannabis law reform were not very well received by the DEA and others who saw Marc's crusade against the US-led "War on Drugs" as a threat to the continuation of that war.

Cannabis prohibition is a waste of resources and saddles otherwise law-abiding, peaceful people with criminal records and societal stigma. Prohibition not only turns peaceful Americans (from all over the Americas) into criminals, it creates violence by driving cannabis production, distribution and use underground and into the hands of violent, black-market cartels, who are currently murdering thousands of individuals each day in Mexico and elsewhere. Prohibition has also resulted in an erosion of liberties for all involved and has created gaping holes in the US Bill of Rights, which is supposed to serve as a safeguard of our rights. As a result, US law enforcement and our justice system are being used to harass and fleece hundreds of thousands each year.

President Obama has pledged to look at reforming US cannabis laws and has taken one step towards allowing US states to set their own cannabis policies. However, violent drug raids continue unabated and the reach of the US drug law enforcement regime is spreading further. Prohibition is senseless, wasteful and unnecessary. Marc Emery's imprisonment is just the latest tragedy in our ongoing war against our own citizens.

Please join me in demanding that President Obama reaffirm his commitment to cannabis law reform and, as a sign of his commitment to positive change in cannabis policy, grant Marc Emery, a peaceful Canadian political activist, a full pardon!

Also, please contact Judge Ricardo Martinez in Seattle, Washington and tell him that he should let Marc Emery return home to Canada with a no-prison sentence instead of the 5-year term in the plea deal. Mail:

Honorable Ricardo S. Martinez
U.S. Courthouse
700 Stewart Street, Suite 13134
Seattle, WA
98101-9906

More information: http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/content/2010/05/10/Its-Official-Conservatives-Extradite-Marc-Emery

If you don't think cannabis raids are unnecessarily violent, please watch this video from Columbia, Missouri. Warning: this video may be disturbing for some viewers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbwSwvUaRqc