HAVE YOUR SPECIAL BROWNIE, AND EAT IT, TOO - IN JAIL

There are a lot of legitimate reasons to legalize marijuana, but
people like the so-called Prince of Pot Marc Emery only serve to
hamper that cause.

Legalization would make smoking up safer for those who choose to do
so, as it would reduce the risk of it being laced with things such as
crystal meth. It would be a very viable (and taxable) industry, and
it would do wonders for tourism - Canada would surely move up on the
list of vacation destinations. All reasonable arguments.

But then there's people like Emery, publisher of Cannabis Culture
magazine and leader of the BC Marijuana Party. He has been arrested
17 times - including a 2003 smoke-in here in St. John's - and is
currently facing 30 years in US prison for selling marijuana seeds
over the Internet. And he's pretty much the spokesperson for the
legalization of pot.

He has made a valiant effort in many aspects of his crusade, but
Emery crossed the line last week in front of 50 University of
Victoria students, when he likened marijuana smokers to minorities
such as Jewish and Chinese people.

"There are people who are persecuted in the world, but no one is more
persecuted around the world than the cannabis people," said Emery.

Comparing a recreational drug to a religion or a race is positively ludicrous.

Pot smokers were not born to get high - they chose to get high at
some point and ended up liking the psycho-sensory appeal of the drug.
Pot smokers are not like Chinese people or Jewish people - they're
like pot smokers.

There is no doubt, however, that many marijuana users fall into a
folk group, and there is a cannabis subculture similar to the beer
subculture living on through generations of people watching hockey
and eating pretzels.

But choosing to abuse or enjoy anything doesn't give you special
privileges. If you smoke marijuana illegally, you run the risks
associated with it. Emery was arrested for breaking the law, not for
belonging to a "people."

Emery also claims that people who smoke pot are better than those who don't.

"After us, there's just assholes," he said. "The people who don't
smoke pot are not as good as us. That's why we're hated."

This is extremely hypocritical - you can't fight supposed
discrimination with discrimination.

Blindly ignoring the inherent health risks of smoking anything, he
also claims that marijuana cures cancer and prevents Alzheimer's
disease - flakey claims with no research to back them up.

Who knows? Maybe in a few years people will say, "I can't believe
that pot used to be illegal." But it will likely be no thanks to
Emery, despite the cheers he received at the University of Victoria.

Marc Emery is no martyr. He is just a reckless guy who is losing a
battle with the law and alienating potential supporters.

Brad Ayers