JUSTICE MINISTER FACES PRESSURE TO BLOCK EXTRADITION

OTTAWA -- Justice Minister Irwin Cotler will face calls to reject the U.S.
request to extradite a Canadian marijuana activist over the possibility of
a stiff sentence for a crime that is no longer prosecuted here.

Mr. Cotler's officials approved the investigation and arrest of Marc Emery,
who sells marijuana seeds over the Internet, but the minister is likely to
face demands that Mr. Emery be charged in Canada or set free.

York University law professor Alan Young, a marijuana-legalization activist
who is expected to join Mr. Emery's legal team, said he would argue that
the charge of trafficking marijuana seeds is obsolete here because it has
not been prosecuted since 1968 -- and that even if a Canadian court
approves the extradition, Mr. Cotler should reject it.

Usually, a justice minister or his officials rubber-stamp court-sanctioned
extradition requests, and the United States would likely consider it an
"affront" if Canada refused an extradition request that had received court
approval here, Mr. Young conceded.

But opponents of the extradition could argue that this is an instance where
legal co-operation with the United States under the Mutual Legal Assistance
Treaty has gone awry.

"[Mr. Emery] still has another kick at the can in trying to convince Irwin
Cotler that this is a case where mutual legal assistance is not operating
properly," Mr. Young said.

Mr. Cotler's communications director, Denise Rudnicki, did not return
repeated calls yesterday, even as a British Columbia court granted Mr.
Emery bail in one of the most controversial extradition cases Canada has
seen in years.

Mr. Emery was investigated under a Canada-U.S. legal treaty that is used
regularly to pursue cross-border criminals or fugitives.

By Canadian law, a foreign country can request that a suspect be extradited
only if they are charged with committing acts that are also crimes in Canada.

Mr. Young said that a law prohibiting the sale of viable marijuana seeds --
those that can grow into plants -- is technically on the books since a 1968
decision that they are a controlled substance, like the plant's leaves and
buds. However, no more recent case has been reported in law journals.

In the United States, however, Mr. Emery could face a minimum sentence of
10 years, and a maximum of life in prison if found guilty.

"Suddenly, it doesn't look like the same crime," Mr. Young said.

Mr. Young, a long-time friend of Mr. Emery, said that it is usually
difficult to fight an extradition request because the standard for evidence
is relatively low.

After Canada receives a formal extradition request, a judge hears evidence
- -- usually only affidavits from prosecutors. A judge decides if the
evidence would be strong enough to put the suspect on trial in Canada, but
does not need to determine if a conviction would be likely here.

But Mr. Young said he would argue that the Canadian and U.S. crimes of
trafficking pot seeds may be the same technically, but are actually
different -- like the difference between manslaughter and murder -- so that
extradition cannot be applied.

If Canada believes it is still a crime, then Mr. Emery should be prosecuted
here first, he said.