Pot activists Marc and Jodie Emery plead guilty, sentenced in drug-related court case

Prominent pot activists Jodie and Marc Emerypleaded guilty to a number of drug-related charges in a Torontocourt, which fined them $195,000 each,Jodie Emery told CBCToronto.

The pair also received two years' probation and cannot participate in the running ofillegal marijuana dispensaries.

Three others charged in the case were also sentenced to pay fines, but 17 more had their charges withdrawn as part of a deal, Emery said.

• Police charge 15 with drug offences after raid at Kensington Market pot shop

• Marc and Jodie Emery still in legal limbo after court date adjourned

Marc Emery, the self-proclaimed "Prince of Pot," pleaded guilty Monday to possession of marijuana for purpose of trafficking, trafficking marijuana and possession of proceeds of crime more than $5,000.

'I even offered to go to jail for a year'

Jodie Emery pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana for purpose of trafficking and possession of proceeds of crime over $5,000.

All other charges against theEmeryswere dropped and the judgeaccepted a joint recommendation for sentencing the couple.

Each must pay a $150,000 fine plus a $45,000 victim surcharge andspend two years probation with conditions to keep the peace and beof good behaviour and not to participate, directly or indirectly, inany illegal marijuana dispensaries.

"I think this fine is extraordinarily high, I even offered to goto jail for a year, but they weren't interested," Marc Emery said
to the judge.

Jodie Emery told the judge she knew what she was doing wasillegal but was hoping in the future it would be legal.

"We thought we could make a really big impact on whatlegalization should look like," she said.

The federal government is set to legalize recreational marijuanain July 2018, but its sale has been left up to the provinces.

In Ontario, for example, marijuana will be sold by the provincialgovernment in a series of dedicated stores, similar to how it sellsliquor.

Dispensary chain earned tens of thousands weekly

The prosecution read out an agreed statement of facts Monday thatshowed the substantial amount of cash earned at numerousdispensaries.

"Marc and Jodie Emery had established a sophisticated franchisemodel with the goal of operating dispensaries all across Canada,"said Crown attorneyKiranGill.

She said police began Project Gator in 2016 to look into CannabisCulture, the marijuana brand operated by theEmerysthat moved intothe burgeoning dispensary business.

The prosecution said it was able to piece together the vast sumsof money involved after police raided various Cannabis Culturelocations across the country along with raids at the company'sheadquarters in Vancouver.

They found "tens of thousands of documents," Gill said, fromcontracts to receipts.

First, franchisees had to pay Cannabis Culture a $25,000franchise fee plus a $3,000 monthly fee. Marijuana and cannabisproducts, from weed to edibles to merchandise, had to be procured bythe franchisee.

"Their marijuana is obtained illicitly," Gill told court.

Franchisees also had to pay six per cent to 10 per cent royaltieson total sales to Cannabis Culture, court heard.

• Toronto dispensaries once owned by the Prince of Pot to shut down

Gill provided court a snapshot of the money changing hands. ACannabis Culture dispensary in downtown Toronto, owned by Marc Emeryand Christopher Goodwin, was sending $20,000 to $45,000 in weeklyroyalties alone to headquarters in January 2017, according totransaction records police had seized.

"That's not money generated by the franchise itself, just thesix per cent royalties," Gill said.

The couple's arrest at Toronto's Pearson International Airport inMarch was followed byco-ordinatedraids in several cities of potshops associated with them, court heard.

The Cannabis Culture brand was used at one point by a chain of 19marijuana dispensaries in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec, butthe number of stores has dwindled to eight, according to theirwebsite.

Three other people arrested in March 37-year-old ChristopherGoodwin and 31-year-old Erin Goodwin, both of Toronto, and29-year-old Britney Guerra of Stoney Creek, Ont. also pleaded
guilty to drug-related counts.

All three pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana for purposeof trafficking, while Christopher Goodwin and Guerra also pleadedguilty to possession of proceeds of crime over $5,000.