'PRINCE OF POT' IN HOT WATER OVER NAZI TAG

Marc Emery Defends Description Of Justice Minister As A 'Nazi-Jew'

OTTAWA - Marijuana crusader Marc Emery has found himself under fire this
week as bloggers scrutinize the content of his Web sites, including a
posting from his "jail blog" last summer in which he called federal Justice
Minister Irwin Cotler a "Nazi-Jew."

With the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration after him, the case of
British Columbia's "Prince of Pot," has become a cause celebre. Since his
arrest a month ago, he has been facing possible extradition to the United
States for selling marijuana seeds to U.S. customers.

Supporters of Mr. Emery, who calls himself "the leader of the marijuana
people around the world," include federal NDP leader Jack Layton, who has
argued against the extradition.

Mr. Emery, 47, was serving a three-month sentence in Saskatoon last summer
for passing a joint at a pot rally when he wrote the "jail blog," which he
dictated to associates over the phone, who then posted it on the Internet.

In it, he complained that Mr. Cotler went from being a human rights
advocate to a justice minister who, as attorney-general, allows for the
prosecution of cannabis users.

"I thought the term Jewish-Nazi, or Nazi-Jew, was an oxymoron until Cotler
became the Injustice Minister," Mr. Emery's posting said. "What a disgrace
he is to his Jewish roots. He should -- so much -- know better."

In June, the content on his main Web site -- cannabisculture.com, which he
edits, publishes and uses to help sell millions of dollars worth of
marijuana seeds -- prompted NDP House leader Libby Davies to write to one
of Mr. Emery's employees, Chris Bennett.

"I have been extremely disturbed by the tone and characterization of the
Minister of Justice, Mr. Cotler, as a Nazi-Jew and the Gestapo," wrote Ms.
Davies, who has tried to help one of Mr. Emery's associates, Renee Boje,
who also faces potential extradition to the United States. "I have been
advocating for Renee against the extradition and will continue to do so,
but find the anti-Semitic characterization of Mr. Cotler based on his
religious beliefs to be very offensive and completely counterproductive."

Four days after Ms. Davies' letter was posted to the site by Mr. Bennett,
Mr. Emery -- temporarily taking a view that the Nazi metaphor "disengages
almost everyone" -- said he had a better word for Mr. Cotler: "capo."

"If you're going to make comparisons," he advised, "the term for Irwin
Cotler might be 'capo'. These were the Jews during the Holocaust who were
fated to deliver their fellow Jews to their death...."

In this case, Mr. Cotler would deliver his fellow Canadians to his American
"masters," Mr. Emery's posting explained.

This month, a doctored picture of Mr. Cotler in a Nazi uniform, with a
caption calling him a "neocon-kapo," was removed by one of the site's
administrators after it had been posted by one of the regular participants
of the site's discussion groups. Several bloggers, including
smalldeadanimals.com, later began to draw attention to that posting and to
Mr. Emery's "capo" comment.

On Monday, the same regular member on the cannabisculture Web site posted a
cartoon that depicted an Israeli soldier shooting a Palestinian in the
back. An Orthodox Jew with an exaggeratedly large nose then says to the
soldier, "Hush ... We Don't Want to Wake Him Up" while gesturing toward a
large, dozing, globe-headed figure labelled "world opinion." A man in a
kaffiyeh, checking the pulse of the sleeping figure says "Wake Him Up? He's
Dead..."

When Mr. Emery, who is out on bail, was asked by the Ottawa Citizen about
this cartoon in an interview on Tuesday, he said that while he didn't
endorse it, it was "probably legitimate political commentary."

On Wednesday, he changed his view, posting a statement above the cartoon
saying: "This illustration is offensive to our Jewish friends and cannot
possibly help our cause... "

An administrator banned the person who posted the cartoon from the site.

Mr. Emery said when he originally used the term "Nazi-Jew" he was in a very
emotional state.

"When you're in jail, you can be seized by despair," he said.

Yet, he said that while he did not wish to be "insulting" to Mr. Cotler,
ultimately he believes the Nazi metaphor is fair.

"To me a Nazi is a person who would inflict pain, punishment, incarceration
or death on anyone who's acting peacefully and honestly," he said. Mr.
Cotler, he said, fits into the category.

Mr. Emery said it is his respect and admiration for Jewish people that is
behind his belief that Mr. Cotler should be held to a higher standard.

"I have a great sensitivity to the Jewish pogroms and I'm very steeped in
knowledge about them. I love studying Jewish history, cultural history. A
lot of people have always thought I was a Jewish wanna-be," Mr. Emery said.

David Matas, chief legal counsel for B'nai Brith Canada, said it
trivializes the atrocities of the Holocaust "to call everything that
happens in this world with which you disagree Nazism."

At the same time, Mr. Matas said Mr. Emery's use of the metaphor, although
"totally inappropriate," is not an act of anti-Semitism, a brand of hatred
which, he said, is generally based on conspiracy theories.

"I don't think this guy is in that business," Mr. Matas said.

He said, though, that Mr. Emery should restrict his criticism to Mr.
Cotler's record and leave his religion out of it.

Mr. Cotler declined to be interviewed for this story. A spokesperson said
because Mr. Emery is facing possible extradition, he does not want to risk
prejudicing the case.