It’s been a tough month for Marc Emery, first he has had to negotiate with the US government in the face of an extradition hearing and then he had to shut down Cannabis Culture Magazine because of escalating losses. Now, Emery faces yet another threat to his kingdom, this time from Vancouver City Hall.

Vancouver City Hall has refused to grant licenses for three of Emery’s marijuana-related businesses: the now defunct Cannabis Culture magazine, his paraphernalia store, and his convenience store. City Hall rejected Emery’s applications citing his 2004 drug-trafficking conviction which he claims was for “passing a joint.” In the past Emery never needed a license because his companies were held under his now-defunct political party. Emery has used several different types of arguments to make his case in the public arena:

• He is peaceful: “Every weekend that we’ve been on that block for 15 years, the police have never been called to address any street disorder, for 15 years in our building and around our building,” he said.
• The city is hypocritical: Emery says the city’s decision is hypocritical, considering roughly 10,000 marijuana users were able to publicly smoke the drug on April 20 in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery.
• He is being personally attacked: “This is all about me,” said Emery. “There are a dozen seed stores in this city operating without licences and no one’s charging them for anything. We’re not doing anything: we don’t sell seeds, we don’t break the law, we don’t sell marijuana.”
• It’s all about the 2010 Olympics: “This is totally related to the Olympics,” he said. “They’re just nervous to show the culture of what Vancouver is really like to the world.”

However, his competitors claim that Emery was not given licenses because he is guilty of not strictly complying with the letter of the law:

But other stores, like national tobacco and herb-smoking paraphernalia chain Puff Pipes, are being allowed licences.

Claire Brousseau, manager of Puff Pipes on Main Street, says that her business’ “strict use of terminology” and insistence that marijuana smoking not take place within their walls has kept them safe from controversy.

Emery’s store, like others in the Lower Mainland, has been known to take a looser approach.

But while Cannabis Culture Headquarters may have once had a “vapor lounge” – a room for supervised marijuana smoking – Emery says the service was removed six weeks ago.

via CTVBC.

Watch Marc Emery at City Hall:

See Also:

• CTV – Pot advocate Emery fights store closure
• The Province – Prince of Pot’s empire in peril.
  
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