Canada's Prince of Pot hopes to spread his gospel of weed on the popular American news magazine 60 Minutes on Sunday.

Marc Emery, who's facing extradition to the United States for selling marijuana seeds over the Internet, was interviewed by reporter Bob Simon for a segment on the show.

Canadian police arrested Emery in Nova Scotia last July at the request of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration following an 18-month investigation. Two of the charges-conspiracy to produce marijuana and conspiracy to distribute marijuana seeds-carry penalties ranging from 10 years to life, while a third charge of conspiracy to engage in money laundering carries a penalty of up to 20 years.

Emery's 60 Minutes TV appearance faces stiff competition from another popular show.

"Unfortunately I'm on opposite the Oscars," Emery said. "Normally 60 Minutes gets 14 million viewers. They told me they'd probably get only about 12 million this time."

It will still be the the well-known marijuana activist's largest audience. "The most I've ever had is four million [readers] in the Wall Street Journal 10 years ago-that was my top A-list media so far," he said.

The New York Times has also written about Emery and the Washington Post has a story coming out this week. Past American coverage includes an interview in Rolling Stone magazine. He was also the front page of the Wall Street Journal and appeared in Time magazine three times.

The 17-minute spot on 60 Minutes has been in production for seven months. Crews filmed in Vancouver in late August through to October. Simon came to the city for several days to work on the story, while production staff visited several times.

"They sat me under their lights for three hours with their grilling," Emery said, adding he didn't find any of the questions difficult. "[Simon] was tough, although he said I'm the best subject, or the coolest and calmest subject, he's ever interviewed under these circumstances. He said my story's unusual in that I'm not running away from any facts."

Emery expects his appearance on 60 Minutes will affect Americans' views on the marijuana issue. "My hope is that they begin to see that their drug war is being exported to the punishment of people around the world. In Canada right now we've got a government that emulates the Bush administration and where the Bush administration has taken their people is a horrible place filled with prisons."

Emery is not concerned how he will be portrayed in the news story. "I've never been what I felt was misquoted or had my message skewed ever in any media-again because I'm not running away from facts, I'm forthcoming."

His next court appearance is March 9, when it's expected an extradition hearing date will be set, probably for around December.

Few people have beaten extradition, although Emery's unusual in that he's Canadian. If he loses the court battle, he has a few options. "What happens is the court agrees to surrender me and then I have to appeal to the Justice Minister- Hang 'em High' Vic Toews. Then I would have to get the Canadian people to urge him to rescind the extradition."

Emery argues his arrest was purely political, citing this week's shutdown of a Montreal-based Internet pot seed business, in which no one arrested faces extradition.

"I was spending my own money thwarting the U.S. drug war and thwarting the U.S. government, so that made me a much more important target to Americans than anybody else selling seeds," he said.

Since Emery's July arrest, his lifestyle has been pared down. He gave up his leased Ford Thunderbird convertible and left the $2,800-a-month apartment overlooking Coal Harbour. His then fiance moved to Ontario and he lives in an apartment on Seymour Street with one of his employees.