EMERY CASE ROLLS OUT IN PRINCE OF POT DOC

There aren't enough adjectives in the dictionary to describe Marc Emery.

Abrasive, brash, compelling, driven . . . and that's just the
beginning of the alphabet.

It's not surprising, then, that a new documentary on Emery's
impending extradition hearing -- and possible life imprisonment for
selling pot seeds -- is chock-full of the kind of hyperbole that
vaulted him into headlines here when he was a London bookseller and
political gadfly.

In the documentary airing tomorrow, by rookie director Nick Wilson,
Emery compares himself with slain human rights icon Martin Luther
King, Jr. and South African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela.

It's OK, Emery says in the hour-long film, "if I die in jail or get
murdered or something like that . . . We need martyrs. We need heroes."

Emery's over-the-top comments are at least matched by the United
States Drug Enforcement Agency (USDEA) claims that Emery is Canada's
leading drug dealer; is "one of the top 46 drug traffickers in the
world"; and that his sale of pot seeds has made him responsible for
the production of 1.1 million pounds of addictive marijuana.

If that claim is true, "I produced more marijuana than anyone on the
planet, except God," Emery says in The Prince of Pot, a documentary
to be aired on CBC Newsworld's The Lens.

The film makes a the case that Emery's prosecution is as much about
the international politics of marijuana as it is about the law.

It also is a window into Emery's craving for immortality.

The two goals may converge in Vancouver in January at Emery's
extradition hearing.

Fined by a Canadian judge for selling pot seeds here, Emery could be
jailed for life if tried and convicted in the U.S.

If he swings a deal with the Canadian government, he could get 10 years here.

In an interview from Vancouver, Emery told The Free Press he would
prefer life -- or death -- in jail.

"A dead person remembered fondly is a great inspiration to the
movement," he said in a telephone interview.

His other fantasy, he offers, is that the government will see the
error of its ways and he will be released -- after enough years in
jail to ensure his beatification. Then, just as Mandela was elected
head of South Africa after decades in jail, Emery wants to be elected
to Parliament, be appointed justice minister and right the wrongs of
marijuana laws in Canada.

"I like to think I'm having fun doing what I do. But I'm definitely
looking at legacy," he said.

Emery's battle, and his rise to international renown, had its genesis
in London.

He ran City Lights book store downtown. It was his pulpit for free
speech, legalized Sunday shopping, legalized pot and several runs at
political office.

In one infamous battle on the police station steps, he dared police
to arrest him (they wouldn't) for opening his store on a Sunday.

He's since become better at it -- in the 30 years since Emery has
sought and made headlines, he's been arrested 22 times and jailed 17.

Those days in London were among his best, he says, although, "I'm
calmer and more reasonable now."

Wilson believes Emery, 49 now, will opt for jail instead of a plea
bargain; preferring martyrdom to being a footnote in history. "He has
a choice: upping the ante or becoming irrelevant."

Emery needs to realize that jail in the U.S. is no picnic, Campbell
says in one memorable sound bite.

IF YOU WATCH

What: The Prince of Pot: the U.S. vs Marc Emery

When: 10 p.m. tomorrow

Where: CBC Newsworld