Pubdate: Thu, 01 Sep 2005
Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU)
Copyright: 2005 The Gazette, a division of Southam Inc.
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/274
Author: Zev Singer, CanWest News Service
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

'PRINCE OF POT' APOLOGIZES FOR CALLING COTLER A NAZI

Crusader Can't Resist Comparing Persecution Of Pot Smokers To Persecution 
Of Jews

British Columbia marijuana crusader Marc Emery apologized yesterday for 
referring to federal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler as a Nazi.

Emery, the 47-year-old "Prince of Pot" who faces potential extradition to 
the United States for selling marijuana seeds, has compared the persecution 
of people involved in marijuana culture to that experienced by Jews under 
the Nazi regime.

"I feel ashamed when my Jewish friends tell me they are ill at ease by my 
using the terms Nazi or Holocaust when referring to this issue or 
incident," Emery, who once wrote a biography of a Holocaust survivor, wrote 
yesterday on his website cannabis.com.

It was in the "jail blog" he wrote from a Saskatoon jail last summer that 
he called Cotler a "Nazi-Jew."

In an interview last week, he reiterated he thought Cotler was acting like 
a Nazi, although he explained his use of the term "Nazi-Jew" was reflective 
of the high regard he has for Jews and his expectation they, after enduring 
persecution, would have sympathy for what he calls the systematic 
persecution of marijuana smokers.

Yesterday, he wrote that he believes the Nazi vocabulary is not appropriate.

"I apologize to the honourable minister, Mr. Cotler," he wrote, adding: 
"I'm going to stop using the term Nazi or Holocaust in any future discussions."

But, later in the day, Emery posted a comment on his website comparing the 
experiences of Jews and "marijuana people."
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MAP posted-by: Elizabeth Wehrman