The arrest by Canadian police of marijuana activist Marc Emery in response to an extradition request by the U.S. government has sparked a worldwide protest in his support and against the U.S.-led “War on Drugs” more generally, and Toronto is set to be a main Canadian locale. Nearly 40 cities are planning protests against Emery’s arrest as part of “Cannabis Liberation Week.”

Protesters claim that their cause is a Canadian sovereignty issue, with a Toronto rally poster depicting a mountie as a puppet dangling in front of an American flag. They also believe that Emery is being targeted for his U.S. political activism.

Marc Emery has been openly selling marijuana seeds by online mail order from his Vancouver headquarters to international buyers for over ten years. He has the support from many Canadian politicians most notably the NDP leader Jack Layton and the Vancouver mayor Larry Campbell.

The Varsity spoke to Emery at his office in British Columbia. Emery asserted that pot is safe and has beneficial uses; it is the penalties that are harming people.

“I urge all students to seriously consider what’s at stake here. Do you want the drug war machine making prisoners out of harmless, otherwise law-abiding pot smokers, or should we continue our progress to a safer more sensible society?

“The money we save on law enforcement could be better spent on education and treatment for those in need.”

Emery has been recommended by Health Canada as a supplier where medical marijuana patients could buy seeds to grow plants. He claims he has paid nearly $600,000 in taxes from his seed sales over the past six years, and that “Marijuana Seed Vendor” was clearly marked on his tax returns.

Marc Emery is the leader and founder of the Marijuana Party of Canada. In the years that Emery has been working as an activist, Canada’s zero tolerance approach to marijuana has changed to one of acceptance. A much-publicized political debate on legalization is ongoing.

Emery owned and operated an addiction treatment centre in Vancouver for four years and said that the idea that pot is a stepping stone to hard drugs is untrue. “Sending fathers to jail for marijuana is more a stepping stone to hard drug use for both the father and child than marijuana is,” he said.

The US has the largest per capita prison population in the world, seven times that of Canada.

The worldwide protest, named “Smoke Out America,” is set to occur this Sunday, with both American and Canadian embassies listed as rallying locations on an organizer’s website. The Toronto protest is scheduled to take place at 3 p.m. at the U.S. consulate.