share this story

Smoke Signal e-Newsletter

Submit this story     

The former prosecutor of the “Prince of Pot” Marc Emery now thinks cannabis law should be changed, saying marijuana prohibition has “utterly failed.”

Before getting into that though, he uses his op-ed space to denigrate cannabis users and preach about how Marc Emery took “the wrong path” when it came to getting marijuana legalized; basically comparing him to a common street corner drug dealer. John McKay is certainly not going to win any awards from cannabis activism organizations, but this former prosecutor’s thoughts on marijuana prohibition are worth noting.

As Emery’s prosecutor and a former federal law-enforcement official, however, I’m not afraid to say out loud what most of my former colleagues know is true: Our marijuana policy is dangerous and wrong and should be changed through the legislative process to better protect the public safety.

I have no trouble believing that when law enforcement officials and prosecutors shoot the bull over coffee or whatnot, they sometimes discuss the stupidity of some of the laws they enforce; marijuana prohibition would have to be at the top of that list. But sharing that with the public would be something else entirely; something that would cost them their jobs.

Law-enforcement agencies are simply not capable of interdicting all of this pot and despite some successes have not succeeded in thwarting criminals who traffic and sell marijuana. Brave agents and cops continue to risk their lives in a futile attempt to enforce misguided laws that do not match the realities of our society.

These same agents and cops, along with prosecutors, judges and jailers, know we can’t win by arresting all those involved in the massive importation, growth or distribution of marijuana, nor by locking up all the pot smokers. While many have argued the policy is unjust, few have addressed the dangerously potent black market the policy itself has created for exploitation by Mexican and other international drug cartels and gangs. With the proceeds from the U.S. marijuana black market, these criminals distribute dangerous drugs and kill each other (too often along with innocent bystanders) with American-purchased guns.

Truer words about marijuana prohibition have never been spoken, and they are coming from the man who put Marc Emery behind bars. And no matter what John McKay says about his former adversary, I think this is proof of Marc Emery’s ultimate victory. A man who calls marijuana users “idiots” and imprisoned one of our greatest champions agrees with Marc’s main point; cannabis laws must be changed because they are harming our society.

John McKay is now helping push forward the cause Marc Emery sacrificed his freedom for. Irony is a double-edged sword, but sometimes it cuts the right way.

- Joe Klare