POT ACTIVIST ARRESTED AT RALLY

MONCTON -- Pro-marijuana activist Marc Emery could face drug charges
in New Brunswick after being arrested at a rally to promote
legalization of pot.

RCMP led him away within minutes of lighting up outside their
headquarters on Monday.

Emery is a well-known figure in the national fight to legalize
marijuana. He is the publisher of a magazine, director of a TV channel
devoted to pot and owns a business that sells marijuana seeds. Moncton
was his second Maritime stop on the national tour.

Before his arrest, he spent 20 minutes rallying supporters and
encouraging them to challenge politicians on marijuana laws. "What is
the moral basis by which we persecute millions of Canadians for
cannabis? How can we justify that? There is no justification, no
parliamentarian has ever offered a justification why you or I should
go to jail for marijuana."

But within minutes of lighting up, Emery was arrested along with one
of his supporters.

Codiac RCMP Corporal Terry Lee Kennedy says police haven't decided
whether to seek charges. "If there are charges laid, we'll have
consult with the Crown and they will be laid in front of a judge. That
could be anywhere from tomorrow to four to six weeks down the road."

This is Marc Emery's third arrest in his cross-country pro-pot tour.
He spent time in jail in Winnipeg and Regina, but police were nowhere
in sight at a rally in Halifax on the weekend.