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Big Life

Marc Emery, Canada's 'Prince of Pot'

Broadcast Date: April 19, 1996

The persecution of marijuana smokers in Canada is nothing short of cultural genocide, says Marc Emery. He's the publisher of a marijuana magazine and owner of Hemp B.C., a Vancouver pot emporium that was raided in January 1996 for selling marijuana seeds. In this interview three months later with Daniel Richler, host of CBC-TV's Big Life, Emery says that after a year and half without a peep from law enforcement, his arrest came as a shock.

Marc Emery, Canada's 'Prince of Pot'

• Born and raised in London, Ont., Marc Emery's first brush with the law came when he was owner of City Lights bookstore in his hometown. He was convicted in 1991 for selling copies of 2 Live Crew's 1989 rap album As Nasty As They Wanna Be, which had been deemed "obscene" under Canada's Criminal Code. At the time of his arrest, Emery noted that his bookstore didn't usually sell rap albums but that he felt it was important to take a stand against music censorship.

• Emery relocated to Vancouver in the early 1990s and opened Hemp B.C., a shop in the city's Gastown neighbourhood that sold marijuana seeds and manuals on how to grow pot. It was raided in 1996, soon after the Wall Street Journal published a feature on Emery and his business.

• Emery served 90 days in prison in 2004 for passing a joint at a Saskatoon pot rally. Less than a year later, he was arrested in Halifax on a United States warrant charging him with racketeering and selling marijuana seeds in that country by mail order. After a failed round of plea bargains and a "farewell tour", Emery surrendered himself to U.S. authorities in a Vancouver court in September 2009. He faced a potential five years in prison.

• After becoming leader of British Columbia's Marijuana Party in 2000, Emery began running for political office at every level. He has been a candidate for Vancouver mayor and has challenged more mainstream parties for seats in the provincial legislature and in the federal House of Commons. None of his bids has been successful.

Marc Emery, Canada's 'Prince of Pot'

Medium: Television

Program: Big Life

Broadcast Date: April 19, 1996

Guest(s): Marc Emery


Host: Daniel Richler

Duration: 7:15

Last updated:
Oct. 8, 2009


End of list




All clips from this program

4 results available  

MediaTitle and dateDescription
Television
7:16 		Dec. 2, 1998
Canada's most flamboyant pot activist 		David Malmo-Levine has made a career out of civil disobedience, smoke-ins and getting arrested. He calls it a public service. (Warning: contains explicit language and nudity.)
Television
3:35 		Nov. 1, 1996
A peek inside the mailbag 		Daniel Richler explains how his CBC Newsworld show got its name.
Television
5:48 		May 31, 1996
Can Canadian hip hop break out? 		In 1996, two Canadian hip-hop experts discuss whether Canada will ever produce a bona fide rap star.
Television
7:15 		April 19, 1996
Marc Emery, Canada's 'Prince of Pot' 		Marijuana advocate Marc Emery describes his 1996 bust for selling marijuana seeds at his Vancouver hemp emporium.
4 results available