Protesting for Emery

Charges against Mark Emery should be dropped, said protesters at Waverly Park this weekend.

Protesters gathered Saturday to show support for Mark Emery, known to many as the prince of pot, as he faces extradition to America. Emery is being charged with manufacturing marijuana by selling seeds online. He faces a five-year jail term.

Ben Vaudrin was at the protest and said he thinks "it sucks" that Emery is going to jail. Vaudrin has multiple sclerosis and uses marijuana to help deal with his pain.

"On a (pain) scale of one to 10, I always have a one or a two," said Vaudrin. "Those seeds could be helping so many people. I guarantee people using it are using it for medicine."

Vaudrin said the two ways he deals with his pain is smoking marijuana and keeping active. He says the more he stays active the more it eases his muscle spasms.

Chino Fortier said he smokes marijuana freely.

"It’s a stupid law," said Fortier. "Marijuana is just a flower and it never killed anybody compared to alcohol and tobacco. It’s really a great rally for Mark Emery. The (United States) is a puppet master for the RCMP."

As the live bands were setting up, Kelly Korolenko was sitting on a blanket near the stage. Korolenko said the charges against Emery are wrong.

"It’s just an excessive punishment," said Korolenko, "He should go to jail in Canada if it’s wrong."

Steph Ritch and Mike Bento say the charges are unjust for selling seeds. Ritch and Bento coordinated the event using Facebook to promote awareness of the protest.

Their production company Green Scene also helped organize the going away party when Emery was in Thunder Bay at the Royal Canadian Legion Kakabeka Falls and Rural District Branch in July.

"I don’t think anyone should go to jail for marijuana," said Ritch. "We think the prohibition of marijuana does more harm than good and it is time to stop. We don’t want to see young people or anyone going to jail for pot."

The park was decorated with posters, information and an autograph sheet taped to a tree. One poster said arrests made for simple possession were 50,145 in 2008, an increase of 5 per cent from 2007. Ritch said most of their information came from Cannabis sites. Click here to submit a letter to the editor.