Pubdate: Tue, 06 Sep 2005
Source: Varsity, The (CN ON Edu)
Copyright: 2005 The Varsity
Contact:  http://www.thevarsity.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2663
Author: P.J. Greer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?196 (Emery, Marc)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

T.O. TO RALLY IN SUPPORT OF POT ACTIVIST

The arrest by Canadian police of marijuana activist Marc Emery in response 
to an extradition request by the U.S. government has sparked a worldwide 
protest in his support and against the U.S.-led "War on Drugs" more 
generally, and Toronto is set to be a main Canadian locale. Nearly 40 
cities are planning protests against Emery's arrest as part of "Cannabis 
Liberation Week."

Protesters claim that their cause is a Canadian sovereignty issue, with a 
Toronto rally poster depicting a mountie as a puppet dangling in front of 
an American flag. They also believe that Emery is being targeted for his 
U.S. political activism.

Marc Emery has been openly selling marijuana seeds by online mail order 
from his Vancouver headquarters to international buyers for over ten years. 
He has the support from many Canadian politicians most notably the NDP 
leader Jack Layton and the Vancouver mayor Larry Campbell.

The Varsity spoke to Emery at his office in British Columbia. Emery 
asserted that pot is safe and has beneficial uses; it is the penalties that 
are harming people.

"I urge all students to seriously consider what's at stake here. Do you 
want the drug war machine making prisoners out of harmless, otherwise 
law-abiding pot smokers, or should we continue our progress to a safer more 
sensible society?

"The money we save on law enforcement could be better spent on education 
and treatment for those in need."

Emery has been recommended by Health Canada as a supplier where medical 
marijuana patients could buy seeds to grow plants. He claims he has paid 
nearly $600,000 in taxes from his seed sales over the past six years, and 
that "Marijuana Seed Vendor" was clearly marked on his tax returns.

Marc Emery is the leader and founder of the Marijuana Party of Canada. In 
the years that Emery has been working as an activist, Canada's zero 
tolerance approach to marijuana has changed to one of acceptance. A 
much-publicized political debate on legalization is ongoing.

Emery owned and operated an addiction treatment centre in Vancouver for 
four years and said that the idea that pot is a stepping stone to hard 
drugs is untrue. "Sending fathers to jail for marijuana is more a stepping 
stone to hard drug use for both the father and child than marijuana is," he 
said.

The US has the largest per capita prison population in the world, seven 
times that of Canada.

The worldwide protest, named "Smoke Out America," is set to occur this 
Sunday, with both American and Canadian embassies listed as rallying 
locations on an organizer's website. The Toronto protest is scheduled to 
take place at 3 p.m. at the U.S. consulate.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom