"PRINCE OF POT" NOT WORRIED ABOUT JAIL

The prince of pot took shots at the government and praised parenthood
yesterday in his last words to Edmonton supporters before heading to
jail this fall.

Alberta's capital was Marc Emery's latest stop in his farewell summer
tour of Canada.

"I'm not repentant. I'm not trite. I'm proud of what I've done," said
Emery before dozens at Beaver Hill House Park, 105 Street and Jasper
Avenue.

He's perhaps Canada's most prominent marijuana advocate, a veteran of
more than 30 years of pushing pot.

"Am I worried about going to jail in a U.S. federal penitentiary? No,"
he said. Jail has offered "some of the best days of my life."

Emery is heading for the clink in the U.S. this fall after accepting a
plea bargain in June. He'll be sentenced on one count of distributing
marijuana seeds by mail to U.S. customers.

He told The Canadian Press in June prosecutors want him behind bars
for five to eight years.

The self-professed libertarian told the crowd that he still doesn't
grasp why people who don't use pot are so vehemently against the drug.

He repeatedly said alcohol is a far more socially toxic substance than
marijuana.

"It's legal, and it's promoted. It's on TV, Hockey Night in Canada.
But you know what? It's like the biggest date-rape drug. It's the
biggest reason we have unwanted pregnancies. It's the biggest reason
behind domestic violence," he said.

"When parents talk to their young people about drugs, I'd say never go
near alcohol, never go near cocaine because you will make very bad
judgments.

"Smoke weed, because you will always be yourself, only more so."

He said he's never seen children of loving parents become drug addicts.

He implored his supporters to stick with their kids, that broken
families are a cause of drug addiction.

An advocate to the end, he told his supporters that the federal
government's Bill C-15 -- which sets mandatory minimum sentences for
drug dealing -- must be stopped.