MARIJUANA PARTY BOSS EYES EDMONTON CLINIC

A leader of the B.C. Marijuana Party vows to open a medical marijuana
clinic in Edmonton by year end.

"We're not planning on getting anybody's permission. We feel the
public's on our side," said party founder and president Marc Emery from
Vancouver yesterday.

The longtime marijuana advocate, who supports his Cannabis Culture
magazine and Internet Pot-TV broadcasts by selling marijuana seeds,
plans to open as many as 10 of the clinics in British Columbia by
October and then expand eastward.

Emery said that the reputation of Edmonton police, known to be tough on
weed operations, doesn't faze him a bit.

"Policing in Edmonton has always been fierce but some more confrontation
will only do the issue good," he said.

The "compassion clubs" will likely run out of small offices employed by
two staff, at least one of whom will use weed to cope with a medical
ailment.

"With a letter of recommendation from a doctor, we'll sell clients
clean, organically grown marijuana. They'll be self-sufficient with the
same growers, run under the auspices of the party," he said.

The feds' plan to allow the sick and the dying to use pot for medicinal
purposes, while keeping the sale and possession of it in the Criminal
Code, is still too strict for Emery, who's spent "millions" of dollars
over the last decade to have the drug legalized.

The new regulations open the door for those suffering from AIDS, cancer,
Multiple Sclerosis, epilepsy and even severe arthritis to smoke pot to
ease their pain and suffering.

Last week, the House of Commons passed a unanimous motion to create an
all-party committee to examine the issue of non-medical drugs in Canada.

Emery's party captured 53,000 votes in the recent B.C. election.