| Cannabis Culture. |
| Marc Emery. |
Marc Emery, who was convicted and jailed for the non-violent “crime” of selling pot seeds to people in the U.S. from Canada, has been placed in solitary confinement in the prison where he is serving his 5-year sentence.
His offense now? Playing in a rock and roll band and being proud of his accomplishments in learning the bass guitar over the last two years.
According to blogger Dana Larsen with the Vancouver Sun, Emery was ordered into a tiny cell 23-hour-per-day after his wife, Jodie, posted a photo of Marc Emery playing in his prison rock band, Yazoo.
Apparently, prison officials in Mississippi weren’t too happy about the photo being leaked – even though they gave Emery permission to have the photos taken back in March according to his blog over at Cannabis Culture:
“In early March, we were able to take photographs of our band performing in the band rehearsal room (the photos that accompany this blog),” Marc Emery wrote. “All the equipment in the music program, and all equipment or recreational items used by the inmates, are paid for by the inmates expenditures at the commissary (the inmate grocery store). After all costs of service and goods sold at the commissary are deducted, the profits of the inmate store are used to finance all recreational activities in the prison, including televisions, cable programming, all athletic equipment, music equipment, pool tables, exercise equipment, and so on.”
| Marc’s prison blog. |
| Yazoo. |
It was that same blog post that apparently got Marc Emery in trouble. Jodie Emery tells the Sun that they are holding Marc while they investigate the photos under the suspicion that someone took them using a contraband cell phone. “But the warden, guards, music and recreation administrators, they all know that Marc got official permission for those photos,” she said. “Yet now they have put him, and his bandmates, into solitary while they ‘investigate’? These investigations can take weeks!”
Jodie Emery, who visits her husband every two weeks, learned about the situation on Friday when she showed up and saw her average-build husband tugging up a pair of 4XL shorts he had been given to wear while in confinement for up to 23 hours a day. She says Marc told her that another prisoner set a fire in confinement on Marc’s first night, filling the entire place with smoke.
Emery has applied to finish out the rest of his sentence in Canada. He was extradited to the United States for his 2010 trial and subsequent prison stay. His five-year sentence ends next summer.
All of this over a few marijuana seeds. It goes without saying that this entire situation is absurd and should never, ever have happened. You can still write to Emery. Those of you who are musicians, he’s asked for music tab music — just print it out and send it. Any books must be sent via Amazon or another business. Individuals can only send letters and photos.
MARC EMERY #40252-086
FCI YAZOO CITY – MEDIUM E-1
P.O. BOX 5888
YAZOO CITY, MS 39194