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.