Dan Van Pot (DVP) sentencing August 2007

[KanMan]

I had posted the quoted message below on pro cannabis message forums on July 09 / 07. I thought I had posted it here too but I can't find it here. No matches when I search the forums here. Did I not post the original message here? Was it deleted by a mod?

Quote:

Dan Van Pot (DVP) sentencing will be in August 2007. DVP was busted for cannabis seed distribution and growing cannabis in late May 2006.

His God Bud won the High Times Cannabis Cup for Indica in 2004. Really sweet cannabis. In over two years I have yet to find one person that does not love the product.

DVP is looking at about one year in prison he thinks.

Sadly all DVP's friends have shutdown the growing and he is forced to get cannabis medication on the expensive blackmarket. Most if not all of us have been there at one time or another.

The doctor wants to push pharmaceuticals on him but he has refused them. Cannabis allows DVP to function well enough to continue work in the construction industry.

I would hate to see what a year without his regular cannabis medications will do to him.

The lawyer bills are hurting DVP as well of course.

I wish I had better news to report.

Keith

[KanMan]

New Update:

DVP called the other day and we had a good long talk.

August 16 / 2007 is his sentencing date.

Due to the number of medical issues he has I am hoping the judge is lenient.

His health issues are serious enough that they should be considered in sentencing. No guarantees of course.

In past years DVP fell through the health care systems cracks and went on to self medicate with legal drugs and cannabis for a number of years.

Sadly thousands have suffered the same fate at the hands of Canada's health care system. Worse yet the health care system failures continues to this very day in time.

Although his self medicating did work to a degree it was not enough to correct all his health issues.

He has been working on getting a proper diagnosis for his medical issues.
The doctors have tried a pharmaceutical drug that just made DVP unable to function properly.
Now he is on a different pharmaceutical medication that appears to be working better. Hopefully the side affects will be minimal this time.

Lastly I passed on the comments some of you have posted and it did cheer him up knowing he has not been forgotten.
Thank you for that folks!

Bail conditions keep him away from computers and the Internet of course.

Keith

[c-ray]

hmm I don't think you posted it here because I remember reading that on another board

good luck Dan....I do hope that he goes in front of a compassionate judge

[KanMan]

Sentencing was put off until September 13 / 07

Dan called and left a message today. I missed his call sadly.
He said his lawyer has told him to expect to go to jail today.

Estimate jail time is 6 weeks or more.

With 18 months worth of bail conditions the man has suffered more then enough already.

Time served I say! Let him go dam it. Anything less in cruel!

We are thinking about you and wishing you well Dan!

Keith

[KanMan]

DVP is Dan Van Pot is finally finished with this ordeal!!!

I just got off the phone with Dan. He was release today after serving a 2 month concurrent prison sentence. Equals 20 days total.
The shorter then original expected prison sentence was all due to Dan working hard to make person improvements over the past year or so.

After close to a year and a half of bail restrictions, no travel, no Internet, etc.. Dan is finally a free man!!!

We are all very excited about this excellent news.

Dan will be back on the Internet soon too!

Keith

[Green Supreme]

Woot. Thanks for the info Kanman. Peace GS

[KanMan]

Link:
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/n...d-74eaa1a53ed1

Ruling shines different light on Emery's case
Appeal Court judgment suggests Prince of Pot should get months, not
years, in Canadian, not U.S., prison
Ian Mulgrew, Vancouver Sun
Published: Monday, March 10, 2008

Finally, a court ruling that puts in perspective the five to 10 years'
imprisonment that B.C. cannabis crusader Marc Emery faces in U.S.
prison for selling pot seeds.

In a judgment released Friday, B.C. Court of Appeal Justice Richard
Low (backed by Justices Mary Newbury and Anne Rowles) said a one-month
jail sentence plus probation was appropriate punishment for such an
offence.

If anyone needed evidence, this decision exposes the fundamental
unfairness of what is happening to Emery.
The appeal grew out of a case heard in Courtenay last fall in which
the Crown thought too lenient concurrent, 30-day sentences imposed on
Daniel Anthony Kostantin for selling marijuana seeds.

The 36-year-old Kostantin pleaded guilty Sept. 26 to possession a year
earlier of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking and export.
The prosecutors thought nine to 15 months' incarceration more fitting.

Kostantin was caught with a dozen zip-lock baggies of bud having a
total weight of only 400 grams (less than a pound).

By contrast, he also had 1,426 grams (about three pounds) of seeds --
and he admitted he ran a seed-selling business.

He compared his operation to a wine boutique offering different
strains for marijuana connoisseurs.

Kostantin had incorporated a company, obtained a business loan to pay
for advertising and placed regular ads in High Times, a bible among
some in the marijuana subculture.

The judge noted police could have obtained a search warrant simply by
reading the magazine.

Kostantin also had attended conventions and been photographed
receiving an award from B.C. Bud Online for having developed the best
strain of God Bud.

The dried, packaged marijuana police found at his home were sales samples.

Emery, by comparison, for more than a decade has published his own
magazine advertising and celebrating the quality of his seeds.

He runs an Internet site devoted to marijuana, too. If there is a
difference in their operations, it is only one of scale.

I think what is most important is that neither Emery nor Kostantin are
exceptional.

There are at least a score of seed-sellers based in B.C. -- some, like
Emery, have retail stores in downtown Vancouver, mostly in the pot
precinct around West Hastings and Cambie.

There are many more such retail outlets across Canada.

They have flourished -- as did the Prince of Pot -- primarily because
police have been reluctant to lay charges because of the difficulty of
winning a conviction.

Seed prosecutions can be counted on one hand. This decision may be a
signal that is about to change.

In this case, the Crown argued that there should be no distinction
drawn between marijuana-growing operations and seed-sellers.

"I am inclined to agree with the Crown's contention," Justice Low said.

That's a strong statement about how the law should be interpreted and
if I were a seed-seller, I now would beware.

Still, in the realm of crime and punishment, the trial judge on the
Island determined that a "short, sharp sentence" of 30 days was
appropriate and would satisfy the need for denunciation and deterrence.

Justice Low agreed, with only a slight modification -- he imposed a
year's probation as well to provide some supervision after release.

Kostantin had no prior criminal record and had been a longtime, heavy
user of marijuana (smoking as much a 10 grams a day to relieve social
anxiety and depression) before being busted.

He has served his time, received addiction counselling, got medical
help for his anxiety, found a roofing job and cares for his
78-year-old mother who suffers from osteoarthritis and recently had a
hip replacement operation.
"In these circumstances it would be counterproductive to return the
respondent to jail to serve additional time," the justice concluded.

With that decision, in my opinion, Justice Low set a benchmark.

Leaving aside the money-laundering charges the Americans have added in
because Emery received money from his seed sales, the Kostantin case
is identical.

But instead of a month in jail, Emery faces five years behind bars --
and that's if his tentative deal goes through!

He is still trying to complete a plea bargain to save from jail his
two co-accused -- Michelle Rainey and Greg Williams. If not, the trio
could be looking at 10- to 20-year stretches.

Other than murderers and their ilk, no one goes to jail for that long
in Canada.

With this judgment, the province's highest bench found no reason to
conclude seed-selling deserved extraordinary jail time.

That's why Emery's extradition should be blocked.

Charge him and prosecute him here if need be, but given his alleged
crimes, he should not be handed over to a foreign state for such
severe punishment.

imulgrew@png.canwest.com

[KanMan]

Good to hear Dan Van Pot is finally finished doing time for this.

He did his month last year and then in December 2007 the crown appealed.

I grew out his 2004 HT indica winner God Bud a number of times. Everyone loved it big time.

Should be getting a phone call soon from him.

Keith

[c-ray]

amen
this certainly puts a new spin on things
thanks kanman

[spaceman]

has anyone been busted for seed in canada in the years after dvp?

[Green Supreme]

Narco's shit has been tied up for a few years. Peace GS