SASKATOON — Pro-pot activists are staging protests and writing letters after well-known marijuana supporter Marc Emery was sentenced to three months in jail for passing a single joint.

Emery's supporters gathered at Saskatoon's provincial court building Tuesday to protest the jail sentence, which came last week after Emery pleaded guilty to trafficking.

"We'll be here every day until Marc Emery is released," said protest co-ordinator Dana Larsen of Vancouver, editor of Emery's Cannabis Culture magazine.

"I don't think this will succeed in getting Marc out early, but I think it will draw attention. Our goal really is to stop this from happening to anybody else."

Emery, president of the B.C. Marijuana Party, was charged with trafficking after he passed a joint while speaking at a political rally at the University of Saskatchewan earlier this year.

While it was Emery's eleventh drug-related conviction, it was the first time he has been sentenced to jail.

The B.C. Marijuana Party has also begun a letter-writing campaign to federal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler. In July, Prime Minister Paul Martin promised to reintroduce legislation to decriminalize possession of 15 grams of pot or less.

"The sentence, viewed by many as extreme, has evoked outrage in the marijuana community," said the party in a release.

"Mr. Emery has the dubious distinction of being the first person in Canada to be charged and convicted of trafficking for passing a joint."

Larsen said he wants to prevent others from being jailed for simply passing a joint.

"I think most Canadians would think that's pretty extreme . . . and would look upon Saskatoon as a backward place because of that, like the Alabama of Canada," he said.

"I don't think anyone else has ever been convicted of trafficking this quantity before."

Seven people joined Larsen on Tuesday. They carried a pot-leaf version of the Canadian flag and handed out flyers entitled Free Marc Emery.

Jay Crowter said he plans to be at the courthouse as often as possible until Emery's release.

"It kind of scares me (that) a guy can go to jail for something so simple as passing a (marijuana) cigarette," he said.

Emery's lawyer, Leanne Johnson, said her client won't appeal the sentence, but could be released early for good behaviour.

"He'll probably only serve one-third of his sentence," she said.