Marc Emery, the Vancouver-based marijuana seed dealer behind the B.C. Marijuana Party and Cannabis Culture magazine, was on a month-long university speaking tour when Saskatoon police arrested him for trafficking on the evening of 22 March 2004.[1][2][3] He had given a speech at the University of Saskatchewan touting the New Democratic Party’s plan to decriminalize cannabis, then went to the Vimy Memorial bandshell where witnesses said he lit joints and passed them around.[1][2] Police came to the bandshell after a call about people smoking cannabis there and took Emery into custody at about 11:30 p.m.; one other person with him was arrested and charged with possession.[1][2] The Crown dropped a possession charge against Emery, who was remanded for a bail hearing.[1][2]
On 19 August 2004 Emery pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking before Saskatoon provincial court Judge Albert Lavoie, who sentenced him to three months in jail.[3] A witness interviewed by police had confirmed seeing Emery pass one joint, and no money changed hands; searching him, police found four marijuana cigarettes totalling 2.3 grams.[3] Crown prosecutor Frank Impey conceded the amount was small but argued Emery’s ten prior drug offences warranted more than a fine, suggesting three to six months.[3] Emery’s lawyer Leanne Johnson called a three-month term extreme for passing a single joint and said an appeal was unlikely, since it often takes three months for the court to hear one.[3]
It was Emery’s eleventh drug-related conviction but the first time he had been sent to jail; he had received fines for the earlier offences.[3] He served 61 days of the sentence at the Saskatoon Correctional Centre and was released on 18 October 2004, kneeling in the snow to kiss a cannabis-leaf flag his supporters had flown across from the courthouse.[4]
