'Prince of Pot' wins bail fight

B.C. Marijuana Party president Marc Emery, who faces extradition to the U.S. on drug and money-laundering charges, has been granted bail.

Marc Emery smokes marijuana as he holds a plant. (CP file photo)

• INDEPTH: Marijuana

Emery, Marijuana Party vice-president Michelle Rainey-Fenkarek and Gregory Williams are all charged with conspiring to sell pot seeds to U.S. residents, conspiracy to grow marijuana and money laundering.

Rainey-Fenkarek and Williams have also been granted bail of $25,000 each.

The trio could be sentenced to 20 years in prison if found guilty by an American court.

Emery was arrested last week while in Halifax at the request of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. Rainey-Fenkarek and Williams were arrested on Friday by Vancouver police of behalf of the DEA. U.S. Their arrests followed an 18-month undercover investigation.

• FROM JULY 29, 2005: 'Prince of Pot' arrested; U.S. seeks extradition

Crown prosecutors had argued against granting Emery bail on the grounds that he poses a flight risk because of the large amounts of money generated by his businesses, and the seriousness of the charges.

But Emery's lawyer countered that his client is not the millionaire the Crown made him out to be, and his record of complying with prior conditions proves he is not a flight risk.

U.S. officials allege that Emery has sold as much as $3 million in seeds.

The DEA is seeking to have the three accused extradited for trial in the U.S., and had requested that Emery be held in custody until his extradition hearing concludes. That could take up to a year.

• LINK: Release from U.S. Attorney's Office

B.C. Marijuana Party spokesperson Kirk Tousaw says the arrests are about much more than law enforcement.

"This is a political persecution not a criminal prosecution," he says.

"They are not after Marc Emery because he sells marijuana seeds. There are dozens of those seed sellers throughout Canada and the United States.

"They are after Marc Emery because he is a political activist, and we need to make sure Canadians understand that because this issue goes far beyond marijuana policy."

• LINK: Emery profile

Emery ran unsuccessfully as the Marijuana Party candidate against then-Solicitor General Rich Coleman in the Fort Langley-Aldergrove riding in May's provincial election

• INTERVIEW: The Early Edition's Kevin Sylvester speaks with Marc Emery's lawyer, John Conroy.