MARIJUANA ACTIVIST TO APPEAR ON 60 MINUTES

Marijuana 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 standing up for himself.

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

"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 won't be punished," he said.