DAUPHIN NEXT STOP FOR CRUSADER

MARIJUANA crusader Marc Emery got what he wanted yesterday -- a tour of the
Public Safety Building.

Police charged the Vancouver resident with possession of marijuana after he
flagrantly smoked from a large marijuana pipe in front of the PSB.

"I want to be arrested. I'm expecting to be arrested," Emery, publisher of
Cannabis Culture Magazine, told the crowd just before he smoked.

The Winnipeg spectacle came on the same day the federal government
announced it will sell marijuana seeds and dried marijuana to sick patients
who qualify under Ottawa's medical pot program.

The government acted on a legal deadline from a judge, who ruled Ottawa
couldn't logically give sick people permission to use pot without also
providing a legal source of supply. Health Canada is appealing the ruling.

Meanwhile, the self-proclaimed Prince of Pot came to Winnipeg on his
nationwide Smoke-Out Tour to encourage the legalization of the plant in
Canada. "To make my case, I have to get before a magistrate," he said. "I
am here to demonstrate to the people of Manitoba that they are getting
ripped off by their attorney general."

Because no magistrate was available to hear his case, he saw the inside of
a jail cell until this morning.

"We talked about this, and we knew jail was a possibility," said Chris
Buors, a Winnipegger who organized the local protest. "It's awfully extreme
for having less than a gram.

"But he's seen jail cells in the past."

Emery had told the crowd it was his intention to legally represent himself.

At about 4:20 p.m., Emery and about 40 others wildly counted down the final
30 seconds before he lit the pipe emblazoned with a Vancouver Canucks logo.
About a dozen others also lit up marijuana cigarettes.

A strong pungent odour wafted into the air, and several smokers coughed.

Two uniformed police officers, who'd warned Emery earlier that he'd be
detained if he followed through with his promise to smoke marijuana, moved
through the crowd of supporters and media to reach him and then escorted
him into the Princess Avenue building.

"The (Controlled Drug and Substance Act) is in effect in Manitoba. It is
federal legislation, and we are enforcing it until directed otherwise by
the Crown's office," said Acting Duty Inspector Gary Simpson last night.

"He's from out of town, and he plans to continue breaking the law. We get
indications like that, and for that reason we are opposing his release."

Immediately after Emery was taken into custody, about 12 officers came out
of the PSB and casually moved toward the crowd. Buors informed supporters
that police had given them five minutes to put out their joints and leave.

Only one man refused to comply. The Winnipegger, who is in a wheelchair and
suffers from multiple sclerosis, was taken into the building but released
about 30 minutes later.

The man, who was not identified, said he has a permit to possess marijuana
for medicinal purposes, and police are verifying that information. Before
being detained, Emery barked out his platform to supporters, telling them
that as of May 16, an Ontario court decision effectively legalized
possession in Ontario.

He said an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled that the federal government
had failed in its obligation to change the law to allow for medical use of
marijuana, and so the entire law was void.

"It's not illegal any more. You can possess marijuana anywhere you can have
tomatoes or lettuce," he said.

If released, Emery is scheduled to light up in front of RCMP headquarters
in Dauphin today as he continues his tour.

He began the trip in Toronto and is heading west this month before hitting
the Maritimes in August.