SUDBURIANS: FREE MARC

Pot smokers of the world -- or rather Sudbury -- unite.

Two Sudbury women -- Kayla Guse, 19, and Kayla Perron, 21 -- are
organizing a Free Marc Emery and an End the Prohibition of Marijuana
Protest on Saturday in Memorial Park from 2 to 4:30 p.m. There will be
signs, speeches, some guitar picking and, of course, likely some smoking.

"It's going on in multiple cities, 53 cities across the world," said
Guse.

"Because Marc Emery came here a few times, I wanted to give him my
respect and hold one in Sudbury."

Emery is a Canadian cannabis activist charged with selling marijuana
seeds to Americans in July 2005. On May 10, he was sentenced to a
minimum of five years in prison in the United States. He is currently
in the process of being extradited to the U.S.

Had he been charged in Canada, the conviction would have resulted in a
$200 fine, Guse and Perron said. Protesters say that extraditing him
violates the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms under the Canadian
Constitution Act of 1982.

"It's against his rights as a Canadian," said Guse. "Because they
can't charge him here, the RCMP worked with the DEA in the States to
send him off. So, it takes away from the pot of money the Marijuana
Party has. And that was actually a statement the DEA released based on
his arrest."

Both women have seen Emery speak and were impressed by both his words
and actions.

"I'm impressed with him as a speaker and everything he's done for
legalizing and decriminalizing marijuana as a whole and pretty much
funding the whole movement toward ending prohibition," said Guse.

"Marc Emery is awesome," said Perron. "I went to B.C. The first thing
I did was check out his stores, Cannabis Culture. I was blown away."

Most recently, on May 1, Perron and Guse travelled to Toronto where a
pot protest drew some 40,000 people to Queen's Park. It was peaceful,
said Guse. The only incident occurred when someone fell out of a tree.

The protest is also targeting the Conservative Party's proposed Bill
S-10, which would impose mandatory minimum sentencing on marijuana
possession, hash oil possession (12 months) as well as growing (more
than six plants would result in six to 10 months prison).

The women, who met while students at Marymount Academy, would like to
see cannabis decriminalized, but not legalized.

"The thing about legalizing is that it would end up in stores with
taxes," said Perron. "People don't want to see that. But with
decriminalization, if you have something small in your house to use to
go to sleep, like I do, I use it for medicinal purpose, there
shouldn't be anything wrong with that."

"I don't smoke it to get high out of mind, I enjoy different kinds,"
said Guse. "I get nausea when I get up early and it helps me eat."

If it were decriminalized, the money spent on enforcement could go to
health care and education, she added.

So far, 50 people on the protest's Facebook page said they will attend
the rally, with another 100 or so clicking the maybe button.