TORY WIN HAS 'KING OF POT' WORRYING ABOUT HIS FATE

DEBRA BLACK

Marc Emery, described as the "King of Pot," knows no fear when it
comes to working on behalf of the regulated and licensed sale of marijuana.

But that cause may have gone up in smoke with the election of Stephen
Harper and the Conservative Party, whose federal election platform
called for mandatory minimum jail time and large fines for serious
drug offenders.

"Mr. Harper has promised to bring in mandatory sentencing for people
selling and growing marijuana," said Emery, founder of the B.C.
Marijuana Party, who sells marijuana seeds from his Vancouver store
and over the Internet. He hopes that any such move by Harper would be
voted down.

Emery, 47, in Toronto yesterday at a demonstration outside the U.S.
consulate, said he is worried about his fate. He faces extradition
charges by the U.S. in the B.C. Supreme Court resulting from the sale
of marijuana seeds online, which is legal in Canada.

If the court agrees the U.S. has the right to extradite Emery, the
case will go to the new Tory justice minister. Emery believes the
minister will send him to the U.S., where he has been charged with
conspiring to manufacture and distribute marijuana seeds and to
engage in money laundering.

"The DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) called me 'the number one drug
trafficking kingpin in Canada,'" Emery said. If he's convicted, the
penalty could be steep. "I'm looking at 30 to 35 years."