SUPPORTERS BEGIN VIGIL TO DENOUNCE POT TRAFFICKING SENTENCE

SASKATOON -- A handful of Marc Emery supporters began an ongoing vigil
at Saskatoon provincial court Tuesday, denouncing the marijuana
activist's three-month jail sentence as a "debacle of justice."

"We'll be here every day until Marc Emery is released," said protest
coordinator Dana Larsen, editor of Emery's Cannabis Culture magazine.

"I don't think this will succeed in getting Marc out early, but I
think it will draw attention. Our goal really is to stop this from
happening to anybody else."

Emery, a Vancouver-based marijuana seed dealer and founder of the B.C.
Marijuana Party, was sentenced in provincial court last week after
pleading guilty to one count of trafficking.

He had been arrested at the Vimy Memorial bandshell on March 22
following a pro-pot speech at the University of Saskatchewan.

A witness confirmed seeing Emery pass one joint to another person, but
said no money changed hands. Emery produced four marijuana cigarettes
containing a total of 2.3 grams when searched by police.

Judge Albert Lavoie took Emery's 10 prior drug-related convictions
into account, but Larsen said that three months is still an
unreasonably stiff sentence for passing one joint.

"I think most Canadians would think that's pretty extreme ... and
would look upon Saskatoon as a backward place because of that, like
the Alabama of Canada," he said. "I don't think anyone else has ever
been convicted of trafficking this quantity before."

"(A three-month sentence) really could happen again to anybody else,
and this could set a precedent."

Seven local Emery boosters joined Larsen Tuesday, carrying a pot-leaf
version of the Canadian flag and handing out flyers entitled "Free
Marc Emery."

"Me and Marc Emery are friends. I basically just came out to support
him," said Kerry Kunka, owner of B.O.B. Headquarters. "He got arrested
for what he was about."

Jay Crowter said he plans to be at the courthouse as often as possible
until Emery's release. "It kind of scares me (that) a guy can go to
jail for something so simple as passing a (marijuana) cigarette," he
said.

In July, Prime Minister Paul Martin promised to reintroduce
legislation to decriminalize possession of 15 grams of pot or less.
Larsen is urging pot advocates to write to Justice Minister Irwin
Cotler to encourage him to add a section to the bill making it legal
to pass small quantities to another person without financial
compensation.

Larsen and other activists from across the country are taking turns
flying to Saskatoon to organize the protest.

"We'd like to see the development of a Saskatchewan Marijuana Party
come out of this provincially, just like we have in B.C. and many
other provinces," he said.

Emery's lawyer Leanne Johnson said her client won't appeal the
sentence, but could be released early for good behaviour. "He'll
probably only serve one-third of his sentence," she said.