Jodie Emery, wife of Vancouver’s Prince of Pot, wants to run for federal Liberals

A senior Liberal source is downplaying stories from British Columbia that the Prince and Princess of Pot are going to be a cog in the Grits' 2015 election strategy.

Earlier this week, we reported that Vancouver's Prince of Pot, Marc Emery, is poised to go on an unsanctioned cross-country tour to promote the federal Liberals upon his release from a U.S. jail next month — Emery is serving a five-year sentence.

But there was apparently more to the story.

As first published in Vancouver's Georgia Straight newspaper, Liberal riding operatives in East-Vancouver are wooing Jodie Emery — Marc's wife — to run for them.

In an email exchange with Yahoo Canada News, Emery confirmed that she intends to run for the nomination.

"[Members of the] Vancouver East Liberal riding association asked me to run for the nomination. I've spoken at their legalization town halls and events for years and they've done marijuana policy m work with the party so I'm familiar with them. I've never met or spoken to or been in contact with Justin Trudeau or head office," Emery said.

"I'm a new member of the Liberal Party, so I'm not a Liberal Party insider figure, but I definitely want to use my name and whatever public profile I have to support the party that has legalization in their platform.

"It's an issue that affects every Canadian; millions of scarce tax dollars are wasted every year on prohibition policies, gangs continue to get rich and use violence in our communities funded by prohibition, and civil liberties are eroded while police are corrupted. It's not about selling pot in corner stores - it's about protecting Canadians and preserving our tax dollars and liberties."

[ Related: For beleaguered Justice Minister Peter MacKay, summer recess couldn't come soon enough ]

In a telephone interview with Yahoo, however, the Liberal source claimed that no one at central office in Ottawa is 'recruiting' either Marc or Jodie and no one has filed any papers.

Moreover, he said, Emery — like anyone else — would have to go through a very "robust" green light process which is the most stringent of all parties.

[ Related: Marc Emery, B.C.'s Prince of Pot, vows to campaign for Liberals upon jail release ]

For the Liberals, having Emery run for them would be a double-edged sword.

Her public profile — and that of her husband's — could help the Liberals buoy the pot issue across the country and help bring-out a younger demographic to the polls.

On the other-hand, it would give the Tories some ammunition to paint Trudeau as someone who wants to make marijuana more accessible to kids.

If —and that could be a big if — Emery was to be green-lighted by the Liberals, Vancouver-East would be a difficult, but not impossible, riding for her to win. The riding — which includes the down-trodden downtown east-side — has been represented by the NDP's Libby Davies since 1997.

In 2011, Davies won handily won the seat with 62 per cent of the vote.

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