Canadian cannabis advocate Marc Emery arrives in Windsor after more than four years in U.S. prisons

Marc Emery, a Canadian cannabis advocate (aka "The Prince of Pot") has returned to his home country after serving more than four years in U.S. prisons for selling marijuana seeds, CBC reports. Emery arrived in Detroit today from Louisiana to cross the border into Windsor.

Emery, who began selling seeds in 1994, was arrested in 2005 by police in Vancouver who turned him over to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. He pleaded guilty in 2009 and was given a five-year sentence, reduced by 235 days for good conduct according to Emery's blog. The case made international headlines, calling Canada's sovereignty into question as Emery's crimes weren't committed in the U.S. According to High Times, "the DEA even admitted that the takedown was politically motivated in a statement released on July 29, 2005 after Emery was originally arrested," where then-DEA Administrator Karen Tandy described the arrest as "a significant blow not only to the marijuana trafficking trade in the US and Canada, but also to the marijuana legalization movement.”

After crossing the border into Canada, Emery made a speech at Windsor City Hall Plaza, and Emery plans to tour Canada and continue fighting for marijuana rights. He should find a friendlier cannabis climate than the one when he was originally arrested, though. Here in the U.S., marijuana has been legalized in Washington state and Colorado, and as Higher Ground columnist Larry Gabriel has noted, every time marijuana rights appears on a Michigan ballot, they pass. The New York Times even came out with a six-part editorial opinion that marijuana prohibition be repealed.