DRUG POLICY ACTIVISTS THREATENED WITH LEGAL SANCTIONS
FREEDOM FOR MARC EMERY AND ANDRE FÜRST – STOP THE DRUG WAR MACHINE

During the week of Sept 10-16th, 2005, citizens from over 34 cities in the world are planning to hold peaceful direct action protests against the proposed extradition of Marc Emery, Michelle Rainey and Greg Williams from Canada to the United States.

European protests will take place at Canadian Embassies in Moscow, Warsaw, Prague, London, Paris, Rome and Vienna, as well as other places, among others the European Parliament in Brussels.

Emery is charged with Cannabis seed distribution and money-laundering; selling cannabis seeds over the net is not seen as a criminal offence in Canada but could find him facing a life-sentence in the United States.

As European Citizens, concerned about present drug policies and their implications for human rights, ENCOD sees it as imperative that this extradition is strongly opposed as potentially the beginning of a slippery slope, which could end the sovereignity of any nation to resist the US-driven ‘drugwar.’ If the US is succesful in forcing Emery to the US for trial, European citizens could be next. Therefore, we invite all European citizens who want an end to the war on drugs to join the protest.

Marc Emery is a passionate fighter for drug policy reform through various media mechanisms, including the Cannabis Culture Magazine and Pot-TV. With much of the profit he made during the course of his work, Emery funded other reform efforts and/or defended other activists who stood trial for minor drug-related crimes. It is these humanitarian, freedom-seeking activities that have brought Emery to the attention of US drug warriors.

Unbeknown to many, Emery has also funded a house where heroin/cocaine users can go in order to treat their dependency with the assistance of an African rootbark – Ibogaine. Ibogaine is illegal in the US and a scheduled drug in the many other countries but even so, drug-dependents and their allies risk indictment in order to save lives and treat their dependency problems.

For the address of the nearest Canadian Embassy, see here

You can also send a short message to Canada’s Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler (or ask your Member of Parliament to do so).

The address is: E-mail: webadmin@justice.gc.ca

Fax: 613-954-0811

Snail mail: The Honourable Irwin Cotler

Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

 284 Wellington Street

 Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H8

More information on Marc Emery’s case is available at www.cannabisculture.com

The case Hemp-Info: Fribourg justice’s witch hunt

On 23 August the District Court of Morat (Switzerland) sentenced André Fürst, the owner of Hemp-Info, to 29 months of prison (unconditional sentence) and to a fine of 150.000 Swiss francs (approx. 98.000 euros). Mr. Fürst’s crime consisted in the development of agro-industrial ecological methods of hemp utilization. André has become one more victim of the incomprehensible twist in Swiss drug policy.

The authorities of many Swiss cantons were still until recently applying a pragmatic and humanist approach. Now the same authorities started a witch hunt obviously inspired by the US War on Drugs, which already proved to have disastrous impact on the drugs scene. In the future, Swiss people will be able to adopt a model properly adjusted to their local conditions due to the Pro-Hemp grass-root movement. In the meantime, activists of this honorable cause are under a pressure from the police, judiciary and media, which is absolutely unworthy of a democratic country.

Considering André Fürst as a criminal, the judiciary is pushing hemp farmers to the illegality, patients using cannabis will be deprived of their medicine and cannabis users will turn to organized crime. Apart individual personal tragedies, this policy will cause a considerable harm to the whole Swiss society. And all this is happening because of a plant, which is less harmful than legal tobacco and alcohol.

The Court refused to make any clear decision on different methods of the hemp analysis, which results can be so erratic that they may easily show from 0,3% of delta9THC to 3% of global content of THC in the same sample of hemp. In the same time, the Fribourg Court refused to make an assessment on the legality of this standard of 0,3% of THC (delta9 or global?) inspired by French law, which is missing any undeniable scientific or agronomic basis and is having no ground in the Swiss legislation.

The Court has neither assessed on the fact that hemp is not a drug nor in the strict sense of a narcotic, or in the spirit of authors of the drug legislation.

As far as we have not received any response to these fundamental questions and because there are also other reasons to reject this sentence, André Fürst will continue his struggle for the hemp and will make an appeal to the Cantonal Court of Fribourg.

The following is the French version of a letter, fax, mail to advocate the hemp reform in Swiss and worldwide, to stress against the war on drugs and to demonstrate for Fürst and Emery freedom, to farm ! This text must be posted in french, german, italian or english, even romanche is cool but rare.

La Suisse ne doit pas faire la guerre au chanvre

Monsieur (Madame),

Je vous manifeste mon indignation de la condamnation d’André Fürst, patron de Chanvre-Info, à 29 mois de détention pour une affaire de chanvre. Cette injustice entache l’image exemplaire de la démocratie suisse. M. Fürst est victime d’un scandaleux revirement politique sous pressions occultes. Une victime de plus dans l’inefficace guerre à la drogue que G.W.Bush vous impose pour faire oublier l’Irak, l’Afghanistan et autres turpitudes.

Depuis le 11 septembre, l’administration US, relayée par un lobby international religieux, sectaire et néoconservateur, fait pression par tout moyen sur les gouvernements, les politiciens et les media des pays réformateurs en matière de drogues. Le président Bush veut renforcer la prohibition et couper la tête des leaders pro-cannabis. La scandaleuse tentative d’extradition vers les USA du grainetier canadien Marc Emery est un autre exemple récent de ces méthodes totalitaires. La Suisse comme le Canada doivent défendre leur politique, et ne pas suivre ce fou dangereux.

Le long processus suisse d’élaboration d’une stratégie efficace était un modèle d’expertise et de concertation. La plupart des Cantons appliquaient par avance une politique tolérante envers les usagers et des centaines de magasins et de chanvriers. La Suisse devait dépénaliser la consommation et réglementer le marché. Toutes les commissions scientifiques ou politiques, le Conseil Fédéral et même le Parlement en première lecture ont approuvé cette démarche novatrice. Fallait-il renier ces avances et pourquoi revenir à la répression brutale ?

André Fürst a respecté les recommandations de votre projet avorté de réglementation. Il a milité et investi pour un chanvre biologique aux multiples usages, utile tant pour sauver l’agriculture sans subventions que pour réguler un problème social majeur. Sa cause semblait triompher jusqu’au revirement du Parlement et ses conséquences judiciaires inacceptables. André Fürst est coupable d’avoir anticipé, comme tant d’autres, une réforme consensuelle enterrée sans motif valable. Au 21ème siècle, en Suisse, on ne peut pas jeter un homme en prison pour avoir participé à l’amélioration de la société. C’est une purge stalinienne, d’abord on suscite la réforme pour mieux pendre les leaders. Vous devez intervenir pour rétablir l’équité et la morale.

Pour faire cesser cette parodie avant qu’elle ne fasse trop de victimes, vous devez user de votre influence pour l’instauration d’un moratoire, une amnistie générale et des grâces à titre exceptionnel sur les affaires concernant le chanvre pendant la période de 96 à 04. En attendant le vote de l’initiative populaire Pro-chanvre, je vous demande de stopper les condamnations des personnes engagees que vous avez laissé faire pendant tant d’années. Ce n’est pas juste, ni moral et encore moins efficace ou pragmatique. Les guerres de Bush ne sont pas notre combat. Poursuivez la réforme de la politique des drogues, en Suisse comme à l’ONU. Freedom to Farm !

Name:

 Profession:

 City, country:

Please copy this document, sign it and send it to:

For all:

 Président de la Confédération Helvétique

 Samuel Schmid

 Palais fédéral est

 CH – 3003 Berne

 tél.: 031 324 50 33

 fax: 031 323 57 82

For Swiss people

 Conseiller fédéral, Chef du Département Fédéral Justice et Police

 Christoph Blocher

 Palais fédéral ouest

 CH – 3003 Berne

For foreigners

 Conseillère fédérale, Département fédéral des affaires étrangères

 Micheline Calmy-Rey

 Palais fédéral Ouest

 CH-3003 Berne

 Tél. (+41) 031 322 21 11

 Fax (+41) 031 324 90 47

For NGOs and CSOs

 Division politique III – Nations Unies, Organisations internationales, -Environnement, Culture, Francophonie

 Bundesgasse 28

 CH-3003 Berne

 Tél.: (+41) 031 323 23 46

 Fax: (+41) 031 323 21 30

For all

 Direction de la sécurité et de la justice (DSJ) du canton de Fribourg

 Claude Grandjean, Conseiller d’Etat

 Grand-Rue 26, Case postale, CH-1701 Fribourg

 Chancellerie d’Etat – Rue des Chanoines 17 – Case postale – 1701 -Fribourg

 Tél: 026 305 10 45 – Fax 026 305 10 48

THANK YOU!!!!

More information on [www.chanvre-info.ch

 >http://www.chanvre-info.ch/]

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