June 30, 2010 – A Michigan man has sued Wal-Mart Stores Inc. for firing him after he tested positive for medical marijuana he was using legally to treat pain from an inoperable brain tumor and sinus cancer.

Joseph Casias, 30, said he was fired late last year after five years of employment at a Wal-Mart store in his hometown of Battle Creek.

According to a complaint filed Tuesday with the Calhoun County District Court, Casias began using marijuana on his oncologist’s recommendation after Michigan voters had approved medical marijuana use in 2008.

But the married father of two tested positive in a drug test given after he had twisted his knee at work, under a Wal-Mart policy requiring tests for all employees injured on the job, the complaint said.

“Joseph is an example of a patient for whom marijuana has had a life-changing positive effect,” the complaint said.

Wal-Mart, “because it does not approve of the lawful medical treatment that relieves his pain, made him pay a stiff and unfair price,” it added.

Greg Rossiter, a Wal-Mart spokesman, said the world’s largest retailer was “sympathetic to Mr. Casias’ condition,” but defended the actions taken.

“Like other companies, we have to consider the overall safety of our customers and our associates, including Mr. Casias, when making a difficult decision like this,” he said. “In this case, the doctor-prescribed treatment was not the relevant issue.”

Wal-Mart is based in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Hired as a grocery stocker in 2004, Casias rose to become inventory control manager, and was named the Battle Creek store’s associate of the year in 2008, the complaint said.

Fourteen U.S. states and the District of Columbia protect patients who use marijuana on doctors’ recommendations, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which helped Casias bring his case.

Still, within the last three years, state courts in California, Montana, Oregon and Washington have said employers need not accommodate users of medical marijuana, whose use remains illegal under federal law, court records show.

Casias is seeking an order that he be rehired, compensatory and punitive damages and other remedies.

The case is Casias v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc et al, Circuit Court of Calhoun County, Michigan.  Source.

Update: (We have just learned that he has been extradited as of 1:00pm today)

May 10, 2010 – Calling himself a “great Canadian” who has spent his life advocating for the legalization of marijuana, the self-styled “Prince of Pot” turned himself in Monday morning to face possible extradition to the United States.

Marc Emery’s fate now lies in the hands of the federal justice minister, who must sign off on Mr. Emery’s extradition to serve a five-year prison sentence.

“I think of myself as a great Canadian – I’ve worked my whole life for individual freedom in this country, I’ve never asked for anything in return,” Mr. Emery told reporters outside B.C. Supreme Court in downtown Vancouver, with his wife by his side and a throng of supporters carrying “Free Marc” signs.

“And now I will be possibly handed over to the United States for a five-year sentence for the so-called crime of selling seeds from my desk. I’m proud of what I’ve done, and I have no regrets.”

Mr. Emery has been out on bail since last fall, when he was released from custody as the federal justice minister made a decision on whether to extradite him.

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson must decide whether to turn Mr. Emery over to American authorities, keep him in Canada, or again request more time to make his final decision. The minister was not immediately available for comment.

Mr. Emery has been eligible for extradition since early January.

Mr. Emery made a plea deal with U.S. prosecutors last year, agreeing to plead guilty in connection to his Vancouver-based seed-selling business in return for a sentence of five years in prison.

American prosecutors allege through Mr. Emery’s magazine and website he has sold about four million marijuana seeds and that 75 per cent of those went to customers in the United States.

Documents obtained by Mr. Emery’s lawyer revealed that a U.S. undercover agent posing as a marijuana seed buyer worked in Canada to secure the criminal charges against Mr. Emery south of the border.

The U.S. undercover operation is described in a briefing memo to Justice Minister Rob Nicholson dated Feb. 10, 2010, which outlines the case against Mr. Emery.

The memo said numerous mail order purchases were made by U.S. undercover agents between March 2004 and March 2005 and an undercover U.S. Drug Enforcement agent was then sent to Vancouver.

The memo said the agent was under the supervision and working with the approval of Vancouver’s police department.

Allegations against Mr. Emery include that staff at his Cannabis Culture store in Vancouver counselled the agent on how to smuggle seeds across the border and how to grow the marijuana.

“It is alleged that [the store employee] told agent Mendez that border inspectors do not conduct strip searches of females, so she should hide the seeds somewhere on her body,” the memo stated.

The documents say the DEA agent made several deals to purchase marijuana seeds in exchange for cash and that Mr. Emery knew she was going to smuggle the seeds over the border.

The information was obtained under the federal Access to Information Act by Kirk Tousaw, a lawyer and former Marijuana Party campaign manager.

In addition to his seed-selling business and marijuana paraphernalia store, Mr. Emery is the president of the B.C. Marijuana Party.

He was originally charged with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute marijuana and money laundering. Two of his Cannabis Culture employees were also accused, but charges were dropped as part of the plea agreement.

The minister’s memo states the federal government has received more than 2,700 letters about Emery and virtually all of them ask that Mr. Nicholson refuse to extradite him.

Mr. Emery said he has public support on his side.

“I feel it will be very politically unpopular if [the minister] proceeds with the extradition because, let’s say five to seven million Canadian’s use marijuana … I have the support of hundreds of thousands, possibly millions of Canadians.”

If he is extradited to the United States, Mr. Emery hopes he’ll be allowed to return to Canada to serve out his jail sentence.  Source.