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The Marijuana Party is a Canadian federal political party that aims to end prohibition of cannabis. With the exception of this one issue, the party does not have "official policy" in any other area. Thus, Marijuana Party candidates are free to express their own personal views on all other political issues - even if such views contradict the personal opinions of other Marijuana Party candidates or the party leadership.
The party was founded by Marc-Boris St-Maurice, an activist and member of the punk group Grim Skunk. After a 1991 arrest for possession of marijuana, he vowed to legalize cannabis. He started by creating the Bloc pot, a Quebec political party and eventually, as the current law prohibiting the possession of cannabis is a federal law, founded the federal Marijuana Party. On February 28, 2005, St-Maurice announced his intention to join the Liberal Party in order to work for liberalized marijuana laws from within the governing party. Blair T. Longley became the new Party Leader following St-Maurice's resignation.
In Canada's November 2000 general election, the party nominated candidates in 73 ridings in seven provinces and won 66,419 votes (0.52% of national popular vote). In the June 2004 general election, the party nominated almost the same number of candidates (71), but won only 33,590 votes (0.25% of the national popular vote). By the January 2006 general election, the party ran candidates in only 23 ridings and received 9,275 votes (0.06% of the national popular vote).
The party's fortunes declined because of a change in the elections laws 2004 that significanlty reduced the party's ability to raise money from donations. Many previously supporters of the Marijuana Party switched to support larger parties. A number of currently-elected federal political parties, including the Liberal Party of Canada, the Bloc Québécois (Bloc) and the New Democratic Party (NDP), have been making small moves toward decriminalization of the drug. Additionally, the currently-unelected but vastly larger Green Party of Canada endorses the goal of the legalization of cannabis to be treated like alcohol.
The Marijuana Party of Canada would not exist if court cases had not been won in the past. One court case victory made the $1,000 candidates' deposits refundable, while another reduced the number of candidates required for official party status to be reduced from 50 to only one. The Marijuana Party is currently involved in another court case against the government to challenge the constituitional validity of the requirement to get a miniumum of 2% of the national vote, in order to be paid about $2 per vote per year. The trial was completed in June 2006, and will probably be appealed. The larger parties get millions of dollars in government funding from the number of votes that they receive, while smaller party do not. The future of the Marijuana Party of Canada depends on winning that current court case.
The Marijuana Party now is radically different than it was when it started in 2000. It regards the mainstream as being the problem not the solution. It says marijuana is good, the government is evil, and that is really why marijuana is illegal.
Party platform
"Legalize marijuana and legalize a revolution."
Election results
| Election | # of candidates nominated | # of seats won | # of total votes | % of popular vote | % in ridings run in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | | | | | |
| 2004 | | | | | |
| 2006 | | | | | |
Provincial parties
In addition to the Bloc Pot party in Quebec, Marijuana Parties have several separate provincial counterparts, most notably, the British Columbia Marijuana Party which received over 3% of the vote in the 2001 provincial election, and the Marijuana Party of Nova Scotia. The Bloc Pot and the Federal Marijuana Party work together, however, the B.C. Marijuana Party and the Federal Marijuana Party do not work together.
See also
- Marijuana Party candidates, 2006 Canadian federal election
- Legal issues of cannabis
- Marijuana parties
External links
"Marijuana Party of Canada"