Pubdate: Tue, 25 May 2010 Source: Chatham Daily News, The (CN ON) Copyright: 2010 OSPREY Media Group Inc. Contact: http://www.chathamdailynews.ca/feedback1/LetterToEditor.aspx Website: http://www.chathamdailynews.ca Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1627 Page: 3 Author: Trevor Terfloth ACTIVISTS PROTEST EXTRADITION Local marijuana activists slammed the recent extradition of a Canadian man to the U.S. to face charges. A rally was held in support of Marc Emery in front of Chatham-Kent Essex MP Dave Van Kesteren's office on Saturday afternoon. Emery was extradited to answer charges of selling marijuana seeds through the mail. He is expected to plead guilty in a Seattle court this week and faces a five-year prison term. Dan Maciejowski, of Chatham, called it hypocritical since Emery was declaring his sales and paying income tax in Canada. "This is against our sovereign nation," he said. "He wasn't in America at all." Similar "Free Marc" events were held in 100 locations in 11 countries. Maciejowski handed out literature on the situation to passerby. He said petitions had also been sent to MPs across the country to no avail. "Nothing has happened," he said. "We're going to continue until he comes home." Maciejowski, 20, believes marijuana is being unfairly targeted compared to various legal substances. "We can smoke cigarettes that kill us. We can drink alcohol that kills us," he said. His friend Joe Mooney, 20, believes the federal government sold out Emery. "I want to keep spreading the word," he said. "A lot of people don't want to do that in a small town." Mooney said there has been a mix of positive and negative reactions from the public. Van Kesteren's office was closed on Saturday. Contacted at home, the MP said he was unaware such an event was taking place. He admitted he didn't have an in-depth knowledge of the case, but said Canadians need to be aware of what can happen when they break the law. "There's consequences when we do that," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart