CANADA MUST DEFEND THE 'PRINCE OF POT'

Re: "Canada's 'Prince of Pot' awaits extradition to U.S." (Gazette, Sept. 29).

I agree with your editorials about the need to protect our citizens
who are stranded or in custody abroad. But it is equally important to
protect our citizens while on Canadian soil, and refrain from
extraditing them to a country where they will face harsh penalties for
an act many Canadians do not believe is a crime.

I am referring to the plight of Marc Emery. Regardless of your stand
on marijuana, it is tough to defend extraditing a man to the United
States simply for selling marijuana seeds, an act that Canadian
authorities have deemed worthy of one $2,000-fine over the last
decade. He faces five years in jail in the U.S.

Seeing photographs of him leaving his ailing wife before heading off
to jail is heartbreaking, and it just doesn't make any sense. It is
unfathomable that the Canadian government has done nothing to stop
it.

Jason Castonguay

Montreal