Pubdate: Sun, 31 Jul 2005 Source: Edmonton Journal (CN AB) Copyright: 2005 The Canadian Press Contact: http://www.canada.com/edmonton/edmontonjournal/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/134 Author: Canadian Press Cited: B.C. Marijuana Party http://bcmarijuanaparty.com/ Cited: Pot-TV http://pot.tv/ Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Marc+Emery POT PARTY SUPPORTERS PROTEST ARREST OF LEADER VANCOUVER -- All the cliches of a pot protest were there: the hackey-sac games, tie-dye T-shirts and small clouds of smoke floating above the crowd of about 200 people. What wasn't to be expected at Saturday's Vancouver rally against the arrest of three Canadian B.C. Marijuana Party members was the support it received from visiting Americans. Party leader Marc Emery, Michelle Rainey-Fenkarek, financial agent for the party and Greg Williams, an employee of Pot-TV, all face charges of conspiracy to manufacture marijuana, distribute seeds and engage in money laundering. Emery was arrested by RCMP on Friday in central Nova Scotia and was to spend the weekend in a Halifax-area jail before being returned to Vancouver. Rainey-Fenkarek was released on bail Friday while Williams remained in custody in Vancouver. The U.S. wants the three extradited to the U.S. to face the charges. Nick Frey, who was visiting from Los Angeles, stumbled across the protest while walking through Vancouver's "pot block," a city street that houses mostly marijuana-themed stores. "I resent my (Drug Enforcement Administration) for infringing on Canadian policy," he said. "It's not my problem because I don't smoke pot but people should be alarmed. People should be able to do what they want to do." Nebraskan Scott Tanner echoed the sentiment. "Our government has overstepped its bounds," he said. "Whatever happens on this side of the border, it's none of our business." The uplifting psychedelic rock music blaring from the B.C. Marijuana Party headquarters in downtown Vancouver didn't reflect the mood inside. Signs at the entrance to the storefront, which doubles as a bookstore and sells marijuana paraphernalia, told the U.S., politely and not so politely, where to go. A donation box was set up inside asking for help for Emery, Rainey-Fenkarek and Williams as they face extradition for trial in the United States for selling marijuana seeds on the Internet and by mail. A conviction on the charges carries a sentence ranging from 10 years to life in prison. Officials in Seattle said the three were indicted by a U.S. federal grand jury in May following an 18-month investigation by American police into the sale of marijuana seeds on the Internet and by mail. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake