VIGIL PLANNED FOR JAILED MARIJUANA ACTIVIST

SASKATOON -- An ongoing vigil for marijuana activist Marc Emery will
start today outside the courthouse where he was convicted.

Emery, known as the Prince of Pot, was sentenced to three months in
jail last week after pleading guilty to one count of
trafficking.

The sentence was handed down by Saskatoon Provincial Court Judge
Albert Lavoie.

It was Emery's 11th drug-related conviction, but the first time he has
been sent to jail.

In an interview Monday, B.C. Marijuana Party member Chris Bennett
called the sentence "outrageous."

"Three months for passing a joint is unprecedented in Canadian law,"
Bennett said.

"It also shows the inconsistency of Canadian law from province to
province when it comes to the subject of marijuana," he said.

"Here in Vancouver, the worst you could get for passing a joint would
be 'No thank you,' and in Saskatoon somebody's facing three months."

There will now be a small vigil outside the courthouse every day until
Emery is released, said Dana Larsen, editor of Cannabis Culture magazine.

The vigil will include a "Free Marc Emery" banner, and flyers will be
handed out to people "explaining what's going on.

"We really just want to show that there's a sustained presence and
that people care about this and to draw attention to it," Larsen said.

"It's gotten a flurry of media attention now. But we don't want that
to disappear and then for the next two months he sits there without
anybody knowing what's going on."

Emery, a well-known marijuana seed dealer who founded the B.C.
Marijuana Party and Cannabis Culture magazine, was arrested at the
Vimy Memorial bandshell on March 22 following a pro-pot speech at the
University of Saskatchewan.

Crown prosecutor Frank Impey told court that between 20 and 30
university-aged people showed up at the bandshell with Emery.

A witness interviewed by police confirmed seeing Emery pass one joint,
but no money changed hands.

Emery produced four marijuana cigarettes containing a total of 2.3
grams when searched by police.

His lawyer, Leanne Johnson, has said her client was making a political
statement and didn't profit from passing the joint.

Emery is currently in the Saskatoon Correctional Centre. Still, "his
spirits are pretty good, considering" and he could be released on good
behaviour in 60 days, Bennett said.

Pot advocates from across the country are now writing to federal
Justice Minister Irwin Cotler, urging him to release Emery.

"We think it's very bad that he's in jail for this kind of minimal
offence," said Larsen.

"Marijuana's a beneficial herb," said Bennett.

"It's been used since the dawn of civilization for a variety of
ailments as well as recreational and religious purposes.

"It's probably industrially one of the most beneficial plants we have,
and the laws against it are nothing more than a witch hunt and it's
got to stop," he said.

"It's making millions of Canadians criminals. Now passing a joint's
trafficking marijuana."

But in an interview Monday, Impey said Emery's sentence was
"appropriate."

"If you were in court, you would have heard the fact that there was 10
previous convictions for either trafficking or possession for the
purpose of trafficking," Impey said.

"That's why he got that sentence. The judge considered all the
relevant and appropriate factors."