As one activist falls victim to the societally cannibalistic and draconian laws that bind us and our consciousness to pieces of paper littered with words written by those whose understandings of consciousness remains limited, another collapses while protesting them.
On September 28th, 2009, Marc Scott Emery will be taken into custody on his way to serve his prison sentence in the United States of America. He has taken the opportunity, over the last few weeks, to spread the good word about cannabis. From his wife, Jodie Emery on her blog:
“Marc Emery will be taken into custody at the BC Supreme Court on Monday, September 28th…Marc is going to be committed for extradition on one count (the same one as the plea deal is based upon) by the judge, and will be taken into custody that day. He will remain in jail here in BC until the federal Justice Minister, Robert Nicholson, signs the extradition order to turn Marc over to US custody. That can happen a week after September 28th or up to 60 days later.”
Whom did Marc Emery harm or cause damage to in order to receive a penalty like this:
“Marc’s plea deal is for a 5-year sentence, and he will be given that sentence as the result of a joint submission, which means all parties agree on the same sentence. The time would be served in the US, with no parole — a mandatory minimum of 5 years, 85% with good behaviour (that’s still 4 years and 2 months).”
As Marc faces the American prison system in just a few days, another cannabis activist, Jack Herer, suffered a heart attack after giving a speech in Oregon at Hempstalk. On September 12th, 2009, Jack Herer collapsed and was rushed to a local hospital.
His speech was spoken with gusto and included wonderful lines like:
“There’s nothing f$%*ing better for the human race than having marijuana morning, noon and night! You live 2 years longer than people who don’t smoke and drink, and 24 years longer than people that do! You gotta be outta your mind not to smoke dope!”
He spoke about legislation in different states and about the many uses of the cannabis seed. Jack Herer is the author of The Emperor Wears No Clothes which helped pave the way for the knowledge of the history of cannabis for our current generation.
You can check out the video of his speech here.
Jack ended his passionate speech with:
“I will see you next time.”
We hope to see you next time too, Jack.
Please send both of these cannabis crusaders good vibes as they continue on in their journeys towards making our lives a better place.
At the national NORML convention on Thursday, a room full of 500 people, led by Chris Conrad, shouted “WAKE UP, JACK! WAKE UP, JACK!”