B.C. POT ACTIVIST TO GET 60 MINUTES OF FAME

Pot crusader Marc Emery says his appearance on the news program 60
Minutes on Sunday will be an opportunity for Americans to see him as
just an ordinary guy who regards himself as the Luke Skywalker
against their government's Darth Vader tactics.

Most people would be amused that the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration is trying to extradite him to face drug charges, Emery
said. Americans weren't forced to buy his marijuana seeds, he said.

"I think Americans are going to say that if this is the No. 1 drug
trafficking kingpin, then I want to move to Canada," he said, adding
he's fighting an evil empire similar to one in the movie Star Wars.

"I enjoy that comic-book premise of my actions, that it's this little
tiny person trying to bring justice and dignity to a whole culture in
the face of a big, monolithic, Nazified institution like the DEA."

Bob Simon, the reporter who interviewed Emery in Vancouver for the 60
Minutes piece, said the program decided to air the segment on Emery
because his case shows the enormous cultural divide between Canada
and the U.S. when it comes to smoking pot.

"Vancouver has a very permissive culture as far as smoking of
marijuana is concerned," Simon said from New York.

"You do not walk down the street in most American cities smoking a
joint, whereas in Vancouver you can do it and you will not be
punished for it," he said.