PHOTO: Marc Emery, the self-described “Prince of Pot” speaks to reporters outside the B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver, Monday, May 10, 2010 prior to turning himself in to be extradited to the United States as his wife Jodie, right, looks on. – Jonathan Hayward/ The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson yesterday confirmed that marijuana activist Marc Emery will be extradited to the United States, a move that the Green Party of Canada condemns. The decision was made shortly after Marc Emery turned himself in to the authorities as his bail expired May 10, 2010.

Marc was arrested in 2005 as a result of an undercover investigation of his online marijuana seed-selling business. Last summer, Emery entered into a plea bargain with American authorities that will likely see him thrown in a U.S. jail for at least five years for distributing marijuana seeds. The extradition ends his 5 year battle to avoid the US drug charges.

“It is wrong that Marc is being sent to a US prison for an offense for which there is almost no penalty in Canada,” said Green Leader Elizabeth May. “We ask the Justice Minister to reconsider. At the very least, Marc should serve his term in a Canadian prison.”

Members of Parliament from Conservative, Liberal, and New Democratic Parties presented petitions to the House of Commons on March 15, 2010 with thousands of signatures seeking to stop Marc Emery’s extradition to the US.

“Marc is not a dangerous criminal,” said Adriane Carr, Deputy Leader of the Green Party of Canada. “He is a legitimate entrepreneur who believes strongly in what he is doing. The sentence that he has been given is completely disproportionate and now to be forced to serve time in another country is a real injustice.”

Jodie Emery, Green Party federal candidate for Vancouver-South and wife of Marc Emery has supported him throughout this ordeal.

“I am absolutely devastated that this Conservative government has opted to send my husband, a Canadian citizen, to the United States for a ‘crime’ that amounts to a $200 dollar fine in Canada,” said Jodie Emery. “This case is about silencing my husband for his marijuana activism. This Conservative government has declared a culture war in Canada and my husband is its latest victim.”