HIGH LOONIE HAMPERS POT EXPORTS TO U.S.

VANCOUVER - Canada's soaring loonie and an increasing number of U.S.
marijuana producers are combining to upset British Columbia's
traditional north-south flow of illegal weed, says the man dubbed the
Prince of Pot.

Marc Emery said in an interview that with the loonie at parity with
the American dollar, it's no longer lucrative enough for smugglers to
risk taking it across the border. Instead, they can earn almost as
much by transporting it within Canada, with emerging markets, such as
Newfoundland, taking up the slack.

"In the old days (2002), a pound that cost $1,600 here would go for
$3,500 US, so it was enough of an incentive to make it worth the
risk," Emery said. "Now, it costs $2,400 US for a pound, so it's not
lucrative enough. Canadian pot has gone up by almost 50 per cent."

Emery said he's been told that many American homeowners, who may lose
their homes due to the U.S. mortgage crisis, are setting up grow-ops
to save their homes, bypassing the need for Canuck weed.

"Rather than losing their home, people are taking their chances
converting part of their house into a grow-op to help cover the
shortfall. That was normal in B.C. 10 years ago (there was a downturn
in traditional B.C. resource-based sectors)," said Emery, founder of
the B.C. Marijuana Party.

Emery said Mexico's pot producers selling to the United States also
are benefitting, due to the relatively weak peso.

Western Canadian producers are eyeing markets such as Alberta,
Saskatchewan and Newfoundland to take up the slack.

Emery, who once sold marijuana seeds via air mail primarily to the
U.S., is facing extradition by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. He's
due in court Jan. 21, 2008.