POT ACTIVIST TESTS POLICE ON DRUG LAW

EDMONTON -- Fresh from a brief detention by Calgary police yesterday, Marc
Emery is headed for Edmonton's downtown police headquarters today with weed
in hand.

The Vancouver-based pot activist is calling this season "the summer of
legalization."

"I'd say this summer there have been the fewest number of arrests for
possession of marijuana as there ever has been for 35 years. And that's
because there's confusion among law enforcement about the real status of
marijuana," the pot activist said in an interview before Calgary cops
arrested him for toking up outside their headquarters.

He was released after about 15 minutes, and will make his court appearance
Sept. 10.

MIXED REACTIONS

Emery has been smoking pot in front of cops all over the country, with mixed
reactions.

So far he's been read his rights in Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg, where he was
put in leg irons, Moncton and St. John's.

Police in Halifax, Toronto and Charlottetown have left him alone.

Edmonton police have said they likely won't respond to the stunt, which is
planned for 4 p.m.

"There is a lot of courts to be heard from yet, but currently there is no
cannabis in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and several courts have
validated that," Emery said.

He says the officer who arrested him yesterday told him, "You may be right,
but we've been instructed to arrest you."

"You have quite an opportunity here, is what I'm trying to point out to all
these various jurisdictions. If the government would just accept that
marijuana's legal -- as it is -- then they can proceed to make it safer for
all Canadians and create a win-win situation."