Pubdate: Sat, 30 Jul 2005 Source: CTV (Canada Web) Copyright: 2005 CTV Inc. Website: http://www.ctv.ca/ By: CTV News Staff, with a report from CTV Vancouver's David Kincaid Video: 3:14 http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1122737445185_60/?hub=CTVNewsAt11 Note: The American, shown in the video, is Richard Cowan of http://www.marijuananews.com/ Please see his special reports about this DEA directed raid in Canada at http://www.marijuananews.com/ Cited: B.C. Marijuana Party http://bcmarijuanaparty.com/ Cited: Pot-TV http://pot.tv/ Cited: Cannabis Culture http://www.cannabisculture.com/ More: Related news clippings are at http://www.mapinc.org/find?196 (Emery, Marc) DEMONSTRATORS PROTEST PRINCE OF POT'S ARREST About 200 people rallied in Vancouver on Saturday to protest the arrest of three B.C. Marijuana Party members, including leader Marc Emery. One demonstrator sarcastically told CTV News Vancouver: "I'm an American, and I just wanted to visit our latest colony and see if all our Canadian slaves are behaving in a properly respectful way, because that's really what happened yesterday -- the Canadian police became a branch of the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency)." An upside down U.S. flag had "DEA Go Away" scrawled on it. The RCMP arrested Emery on Friday, after police in Vancouver raided his marijuana seed and paraphernalia store. U.S. authorities requested the raid. Along with Emery, Michelle Rainey-Fenkarek, financial agent for the party, and Greg Williams, an employee of Pot-TV, face American charges of conspiracy to manufacture marijuana, distribute seeds and engage in money laundering. Neil Boyd, a Simon Fraser University criminologist, thought the case raised some sovereignty questions. "I think you have to put aside Mr. Emery and his politics and look at the bigger issue, which is, to what extent should Canada alter its priorities and resources with respects to policing cannabis?" he told CTV News Vancouver. "To what extent should we extradite people to face penalties that are substantially more than we would impose?" If convicted in the U.S., Emery could face a sentence of life in prison. Emery is spending the weekend in a Halifax-area jail. The authorities will transport him to Vancouver on Tuesday. He runs a mail-order website that distributes marijuana seeds to clients in a variety of countries, including the United States. He had gone to the East Coast to speak at a music festival that raises funds for the organization Maritimes United for Medical Marijuana. Emery is not expected to be charged or appear in court in Nova Scotia. Known as "The Prince of Pot," the leader of the B.C. Marijuana Party has been a vocal advocate for the legalization of marijuana. In 1994, Emery opened a Vancouver-based store called Hemp BC selling marijuana paraphernalia. Police raided his store in 1996 and again in 1998, confiscating his entire stock. After those raids, Emery opened the mail-order business selling the seeds. He also publishes "Cannabis Culture" magazine and runs "Pot TV" on the Internet. He ran for mayor of the city of Vancouver in 1996 and again in 2002, coming in fifth place. In 2004, Emery served a 90-day sentence in a Saskatoon jail for passing a marijuana joint. Emery's operation on West Hastings houses a hemp shop, a book store, the headquarters for PotTV and the operations behind an Internet-based seeds sales company. According to police, Emery's seed business rakes in about $3 million a year. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake