'Prince of Pot' pleads guilty, accepts 5 year prison sentence
SEATTLE -- Canada's so-called "Prince of Pot" pleaded guilty Monday to selling millions of marijuana seeds to U.S. customers.
In a plea deal with prosecutors, Mark Emery agreed to be sentenced to 5 years in prison.
Emery, 51, of Vancouver, British Columbia, claimed to have made $3 million a year before his arrest in 2005, when a grand jury in Seattle indicted him on marijuana conspiracy charges.
After a yearslong battle to avoid extradition, Emery was brought to Seattle on Thursday and pleaded guilty on Monday.
"Sometimes you reap what you sow. Today, Mark Emery acknowledged he broke the law," U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan said in a statement. "Mr. Emery made millions of dollars promoting and facilitating marijuana grows in the United States with no regard for the age or criminal activities of his customers."
To drug officials, Emery was a pariah whose pot seeds were used in illegal marijuana grows across the United States.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said his seeds have been traced to grow operations in Indiana, Florida, California, Tennessee, Montana, Virginia, Michigan, New Jersey and North Dakota.
But his supporters view him as a crusader for the use and sale of the drug for both its recreational and medicinal value. They accused the U.S. of launching a politically motivated prosecution and said they were stunned when Canadian Justice Minister Rob Nicholson agreed to extradite Emery.
Emery's wife, Jodie Emery, accused Nicholson of wanting to "silence the most vocal opponent of the drug war."
Last year, Michelle Rainey, 39, and Gregory Keith Williams, 54, both employees of Emery Seeds, were sentenced in U.S. District Court in Seattle to two years of probation for Conspiracy to Manufacture Marijuana.
In a plea deal with prosecutors, Mark Emery agreed to be sentenced to 5 years in prison.
Emery, 51, of Vancouver, British Columbia, claimed to have made $3 million a year before his arrest in 2005, when a grand jury in Seattle indicted him on marijuana conspiracy charges.
After a yearslong battle to avoid extradition, Emery was brought to Seattle on Thursday and pleaded guilty on Monday.
"Sometimes you reap what you sow. Today, Mark Emery acknowledged he broke the law," U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan said in a statement. "Mr. Emery made millions of dollars promoting and facilitating marijuana grows in the United States with no regard for the age or criminal activities of his customers."
To drug officials, Emery was a pariah whose pot seeds were used in illegal marijuana grows across the United States.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said his seeds have been traced to grow operations in Indiana, Florida, California, Tennessee, Montana, Virginia, Michigan, New Jersey and North Dakota.
But his supporters view him as a crusader for the use and sale of the drug for both its recreational and medicinal value. They accused the U.S. of launching a politically motivated prosecution and said they were stunned when Canadian Justice Minister Rob Nicholson agreed to extradite Emery.
Emery's wife, Jodie Emery, accused Nicholson of wanting to "silence the most vocal opponent of the drug war."
Last year, Michelle Rainey, 39, and Gregory Keith Williams, 54, both employees of Emery Seeds, were sentenced in U.S. District Court in Seattle to two years of probation for Conspiracy to Manufacture Marijuana.
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