CANADA ARRESTS 'PRINCE OF POT' AT REQUEST OF UNITED STATES

Marijuana seed store raided as protesters chant

Vancouver police raided a marijuana seed business run by the leader of
B.C.'s Marijuana party under a request from the U.S. government Friday,
while angry protesters outside chanted anti-American slogans.

Marc Emery, 47, who was referred to as the "Prince of Pot" on the search
warrant, was arrested in Halifax the same day. He is charged in the U.S.
with conspiracy to distribute marijuana, conspiracy to distribute marijuana
seeds, and conspiracy to engage in money laundering.

Gregory Keith Williams, 50, and Michelle Rainey-Fenkarek, 34, who are
alleged to be Emery's business partners, were also arrested in Vancouver.

The search warrant included all records pertaining to the seed-selling
business, Marc Emery Direct, including client lists, invoices and employee
records from as far back as September 1995.

Police took down storefront signs and covered the windows with paper, while
pro-marijuana protesters chanted "Go Home U.S.A., Go Home U.S.A." and banged
on makeshift drums on the sidewalk.

"This is a place where people could pull out a joint and not have to fear
being reported to the police, and that was OK with Canadians," said
marijuana activist David Malmo-Levine. "It's really an attack on our
sovereignty."

The search was requested by the U.S. government through the Mutual
Assistance in Criminal Matters Act, Canadian legislation that was enacted in
1985.

U.S. authorities say the search warrant and arrests are the result of an
18-month investigation into Emery's international seed-selling business.
Emery has been selling seeds by phone, mail or Internet since 1994.

Emery was arrested Friday outside a restaurant in Lawrencetown, N.S., just
outside Halifax, where he had been scheduled to speak at the town's second
annual marijuana festival.

He was held in a cell at Halifax police headquarters Friday night but will
likely be remanded to jail to await his transfer to B.C. early next week.

Emery's lawyer John Conroy had not spoken with his client yet but said he
expects an extradition hearing.

"Presumably they are arresting him in order to extradite him to the U.S. to
face charges there," Conroy said, adding that the extradition hearing would
be based on Canadian law.