POT ACTIVIST MARC EMERY ON HIS "KINGPIN STATUS"

Facing possible extradition to the U.S., the marijuana advocate
extraordinaire reflects on everything marijuana and on his planned
Canadian tour of universities

Sitting in his Vancouver bookstore, Marc Emery hardly seems a "drug
kingpin," but that's exactly what the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency
(DEA) has labelled him. Despite the marijuana literature and
drug-related objects that dot the walls of the space that doubles as
the headquarters of the B.C. Marijuana Party (BCMP) headquarters, the
place feels more like a museum with a gift shop than an international
drug cartel hangout.

As the middle-aged family man, its curator, sat down to smoke a joint
and talk about his recent arrest, a small crowd gathered in the store
to listen to what he had to say.

"Probably got about two years before I get extradited if it all goes
according to the government plan," he says, exhaling.

The very fact that he can openly smoke pot in the store on Hastings
St. in Vancouver's East Side is testament to how far marijuana
activism has come in a relatively short period of time. When Emery
first started, literature that encouraged marijuana use was illegal,
as was the popular magazine High Times, which Emery sold illegally in
the early nineties.

Now, marijuana use is so tolerated by local law enforcement that
Vancouver has earned the nickname Vansterdam, and pot smoke billows
out of an Amsterdam-style coffee shop next door to Emery's bookstore.

But it's come at a cost.

On July 29, 2005, ten RCMP officers, and Halifax law enforcement
officials, arrested Emery. He faces no prosecution in Canada, but
could be facing life in prison in the U.S. because of a DEA
investigation into his seed-selling business, Marc Emery Direct
Marijuana Seeds.

In an article he wrote after the arrest, Emery described the raid on
him and his businesses.

"While I was handcuffed and being delivered to the dank cells of the
Halifax lockup, raids by Vancouver police were underway in my home, my
offices, and the BCMP Bookstore in Vancouver. No real quantities of
drugs or marijuana were found, and in fact really only 5,000 seeds at
the most were available to be taken," he wrote.

In Vancouver, two of Emery's associates, Michelle Rainey-Fenkarek and
Greg Williams, were arrested as well. The trio, now known as "the BC
3," faces prosecution in Seattle on charges of conspiracy to
manufacture marijuana, conspiracy to distribute marijuana seeds, and
conspiracy to engage in money laundering.

The DEA "kingpin" title accompanies the claim that he is the most
important international drug trafficker in Canada, and one of the top
46 in the world. This designation is more than a media catchword,
however. It could mean the death penalty for him in the U.S. under the
Drug Kingpin legislation first enacted in 1988.

Emery fears that if he is extradited, no one in Canada will see him
alive again. He explained that the DEA is painting an ugly picture of
him because they are afraid of him.

"They are afraid of my ability to speak and my ability to organize and
get the media to pay attention," he said.

Emery believes the DEA would be in trouble if Canada ended marijuana
prohibition because they might have to follow suit. He thinks that the
DEA would be unable to keep Americans from coming north for their
marijuana, or prevent the drug from making its way south. This could
result in the DEA having its budget cut, and the people that had been
watching him would be out of jobs.

The DEA has admitted that it has gone after Emery for political
reasons. They called his arrest a significant blow for the marijuana
legalization movement, and recently clarified their motivation for
arresting Emery when a spokesperson said, "drug legalization lobbyists
now have one less pot of money to rely on."

It's no secret that Emery puts most of his operations' profits back
into the legalization movement. Although he doesn't own a house or a
car, the DEA estimates that Emery earns more than $3-million a year.

But despite the DEA's attempt to cut the head off what it perceives as
the Canadian pot monster, Emery said other seed vendors have filled
the void left by his inability to operate his business.

"All these other vendors have moved in to answer the demand," he says,
looking almost annoyed.

Emery was quick to point out there are several vendors within walking
distance of his bookstore on Hastings St.