Cannabis activist Jodie Emery is convinced that the Liberal government's current plan for marijuana legalization will fall well short of its intended goals, and will create some major issues for Canadians.
She is the wife of the 'Prince of Pot' Marc Emery, who has been the 'face' of the legalization movement in Canada for several decades. He founded the magazine 'Cannabis Culture' in the spring of 1995. She was the magazine's editor from 2005 until 2009, when it ceased printing a hard copy. It remains in operation through their website.
The couple was arrested at Pearson Airport in Toronto on Dec. 16, just before flying out for a vacation, for their involvement in a burgeoning chain of Cannabis Culture storefronts. They are facing several charges including conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, possession, and trafficking.
The couple are far from strangers of controversy. They have made national headlines countless times in last few decades. In fact, Timmins came into the national spotlight 17 years ago.
In 2000, after the Timmins Police Service attempted to ban the sale of Cannabis Culture magazine throughout the city, Marc Emery flew into town and held a rally outside of the police station, smoked some joints, and gave away hundreds of free copies. The Timmins Police eventually apologized after being contacted by Emery's lawyer.
After their latest arrest, the Emerys were released on $30,000 bail and bound by a number of conditions. They are due to make a court appearance on May 23.
"Our bail conditions require that we don't leave Ontario. We live here in Toronto. I can travel to Vancouver because I have an apartment there. We are hoping Marc will be able to get permission as well. We're not allowed to contact our co-accused, who are also our dear best friends, so it's difficult. We can't be involved with Cannabis Culture stores, or the opening or operation of any dispensary. So currently we are unemployed, and we are restrained in many ways by the bail conditions which are extremely restrictive, but that's part of the punishment," she told TimminsToday.
It has been one year since the opening of the first Cannabis Culture store in Toronto. The stores were always busy, and were under constant police surveillance, including several raids. The police actions did nothing to curb the demand, as many stores re-opened within days of being busted.
Any person, above the age of 18, who had a Canadian issued photo I.D. could enter a Cannabis Culture location, and purchase marijuana in a candy store-like environment.
"We felt, why not just do a model that represents what legalization should look like. With storefronts that people can go into if they're an adult, and there's no need to leave your personal information, or join a registry of any kind. You can be treated like people are in Amsterdam, come in, get your product, and no discrimination, and equal access for all," said Emery.
"That's why we were targeted. Because our high profile message of what we think legalization looks like, is not what the Liberal government is looking to do, and they needed to prevent us from being able to expand, which was happening rapidly. They knew that we were capable of building up this franchise model. To get the craft growers able to get their product to market, and employ businesspeople who want to own their own little shop, and pay taxes, and represent the brand which has been known for 23 years."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's 2015 election platform included a plan to legalize marijuana and Jodie even ran for the Liberal party nomination in the riding of Vancouver East, but was eventually rejected by the party.
"Really, I don't trust politicians or government at all. So I didn't really believe Trudeau 100 per cent, but as an activist you have to throw your support behind any party that's willing to even embrace in words, what you represent, even if they don't do it in action. And that's part of the activism, is to try and make sure that their actions reflect their words. That's what I'm doing now, by continuing to push the Liberals on the idea of legalization, and how they're supposed to do it right," said Emery.
The Trudeau government has announced plans that marijuana will be fully legalized by July 1, 2018. Despite this, Canadians are continuing to be arrested and charged for cannabis related offences.
"People need to be very vocal about the injustice of continuing to criminalize people for Cannabis, and the need for an inclusive, equal access industry that is not going to shut out the poor, the marginalized, and the victims of prohibition," she said.
There are obvious questions with how the government plans to distribute cannabis, and how will they handle both medicinal and recreational users. Emery calls it 'a big conundrum'.
"How do you take this medical marijuana system that the government put in place, which is really just growing a bunch of plants that are recreational or medical in that form, and how do you force that very restrictive, sterile, pharmaceuticalized medicine model?"
"The government's plan to be the sole producers of marijuana, while the provinces control distribution and retail, that's doomed to fail. Because if the government can't provide the supply, the provinces have nothing to sell, and everybody's going to keep getting pot where they're getting it today. It's going to be a major issue for them, that the current industry will continue to exist, and the model the government is trying to introduce, where the legal cannabis is meant to replace all the currently illegal cannabis, is not going to happen."
Among the details within the Liberal plan is the ability for Canadians to possess up to 30 grams, or grow four plants in their homes, but even that has Emery concerned.
"That's only if its from the government, and you can prove that what you've got came from a government approved company. Everything else is still being called 'illicit cannabis', and they've introduced even tougher penalties, harsher sentences. 14 years for a bunch of young adults sharing joints together. This is madness, and its prohibition 2.0 so its fascinating to watch this government lying to the people, but very gratifying to know that everybody is calling them out on it, and they can all see what it is. Its a corporate takeover of cannabis meant to continue the criminalization of everyone else."
One of the biggest hangups for many Canadians is the issue of people driving under the influence of cannabis. Emery calls it 'fear and hysteria'.
"The government, the police, and Bill Blair have done a fantastic job of going across the country terrifying everyone. Terrifying them about drivers on the road, terrifying them about kids going insane. The truth is that cannabis does not cause increased traffic fatalities. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a branch of the U.S. government itself, admits that marijuana users are no more likely to crash than those who have not used marijuana at all. These studies have been done for decades. Legalizing it will not make more people crash all of a sudden. People are already driving in that condition. You can measure when things cause increases in car accidents. Cellphones and texting caused a very noticeable, very obvious, measurable change. Not the same for marijuana."
"With the mouth swabs, it will first show that you've used pot, but it doesn't say when. But if it shows that you've used it, the police will then have the ability to take your blood with a needle. To me, this is enormous invasion of privacy. If they draw your blood, and they find that there is cannabis in it, then they're going to take away your ability to drive, and will charge you," said Emery.She feels that the police will be given 'enormous new powers' and that profiling of cannabis users is inevitable. Many law enforcement agencies are concerned about the ability to keep the roadways safe under legalization, and how to properly assess 'impairment'. One such solution that has been used in jurisdictions in the United States, as well as Europe, is a saliva sample collected by a mouth swab. Even that has major question marks attached to it.
The undeniably out of control opioid crisis in North America is impossible to ignore, and Emery feels that both government and law enforcement need to focus more efforts on reigning in the problem.
"Its infuriating to me that the government keeps talking about how they recognize there's a crisis with opioids, but they aren't forcing the pharmaceutical companies to pay for the crisis, not punishing doctors for having pushed these drugs onto people. Yet they're looking to restrict and limit access to cannabis, which will directly contribute to more deaths. The United States has data showing that where marijuana is more available, opioid deaths, overdoses, and addictions go down."
"The government of Canada is almost contributing to deaths that are unnecessary by refusing to allow cannabis access to be more more widely available," she said.
There are issues to iron out before Canada can have full legalization. Questions remain about distribution, discrimination, and access. The Liberals are on record as saying their plan for legalization is not at all about economic growth, despite the billions of dollars generated by U.S. states like Colorado, and Washington, but rather to protect children, and curb organized crime.
Emery encourages all Canadians to be vocal to their local MPs.
"That's why this year ahead is going to be so pivotal. Because all of the talk is about the gangs, and the kids, and the driving, and 'reefer madness', and 'be afraid, the marijuana is coming to get you'. The misinformation campaign is really stepping up recently, and that's why its our job to continue to spread the truth about cannabis."
