Marc Emery, B.C.s self-proclaimed "prince of pot," is scheduled to arrive in Vancouver today after returning to Canada Tuesday following his release from a U.S. prison.
A celebration is being planned in downtown Vanccouver not far from his Cannabis Culture store.
Emery couldn't have planned his return any better. He stepped onto Canadian soil in Windsor, Ontario right around 4:20 p.m. (420 is code for the use of marijuana).
He was handed a five-year sentence in the U.S. for selling marijuana seeds to American clients from his Vancouver-based store. After spending just over four years behind bars, he was released Aug. 12 and flown from a facility in Louisiana to Detroit, before crossing the border into Windsor.
In a personal blog, Emery mentioned he had been released early after earning 235 days of good conduct credit.
He says he plans to campaign for the legalization of marijuana, through to the date of the next federal election.
Emery has a university tour booked in Canada starting in Jan. 2015 and will begin a 30-city Canadian tour on Sept.10, 2015 continuing until Oct. 17, the day before the next scheduled federal election.
He has vowed to seek political revenge against the Conservative government for its role in his extradition
A lot has changed since Emery was arrested nearly a decade ago.
In Canada, many police forces are less concerned with marijuana offences than they once were, while in some U.S. states, the drug has been legalized and become big business.
Tangles with the law
Emery started selling pot seeds in 1994 with a goal of raising money to help activist groups, lobbyists and ballot initiatives.
He was first arrested in 2005 at his Vancouver shop by city police who were working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.
Emery struck a deal with U.S. prosecutors and pleaded guilty in 2009 to one charge of drug distribution in exchange for a five-year sentence.
He had hoped to serve part of that sentence in Canada, but was extradited to Seattle in May 2010, when he pleaded guilty to selling marijuana seeds from Canada to American customers.
Emery spent just over four years in detention in the U.S., part of it at the maximum-security SeaTac Federal Detention Centre. After his sentencing, he was held at various prisons including facilities in Missouri and Louisiana.