Marc and Jodie Emery charged with trafficking after raids on pot shops in Toronto and Vancouver

Marijuana activists Marc and Jodie Emery have been charged withmultiple trafficking-relatedcounts, following raids Thursday on their pot shops in Vancouver, Toronto and Hamilton, Ont.

Vancouver police raided the couple's Cannabis Culture storeat 307 East Hastings Streetafter the couple was arrestedinToronto on Wednesday night.

About a dozen police officers were visibleinside and around the shopon East Hastings Street at 8 a.m. PT Thursday.

The pair are facing multiple chargesincludingdrug trafficking, possession for the purpose of trafficking and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.

Sgt. Randy Fincham said that the raid was done at the request of Toronto police.

In total, 11 search warrants were executed in Toronto, Vancouver and the Hamilton, Ont. area, according to a Toronto police statement.

It was not clear how many of those warrants pertained to property owned by the Emerys.

The couplehave a bail hearing scheduled for Friday.

Lawyer Kirk Tousawspoke to the coupleafter they were taken into custody at Toronto's Pearson International Airport.

"Marc was in good spirits, as was Jodie. Obviously both were disappointed at being in custody," he said.

Tousaw hasrepresented Marcin past legal cases and remains close to the couple, although he is not their lawyer on this case.

History as pot advocate

Marc Emeryhas been a marijuana advocate for more than 30 years.

• Who is Canada's self-styled 'Prince of Pot' and what does he want?

In the '90s, hehad another pot shop in Vancouver called Hemp B.C. It was raided multiple times before itsbusiness licence was revoked by the city in 1998.

Every time the store was raided, Emery was fined thousands of dollars.

In 2005, Emery was arrested at his Vancouver store following an investigation by Canadian and U.S. police for allegedly selling marijuana seeds over the internet from Vancouver to residents of the U.S.

After fighting extradition for several years, he was extradited to the U.S. and sentenced to five years in prison in 2010. He was released on Aug. 12, 2014 after serving four years.

JodieEmery has said that opening the illegal Cannabis Culture locationsin B.C., Ontario and Quebecwas necessaryas Canada looks to legalize recreational marijuana.

She's also called for a federal task force to study legalization.