Pubdate: Fri, 27 Oct 2000
Source: Trail Daily Times (CN BC)
Copyright: 2000 Trail Daily Times
Contact:  1163 Cedar Avenue, Trail, B.C., V1R 4B8, Canada
Telephone: 250-364-1242
Fax: 250-368-8550
Website: http://www.canada.com/britishcolumbia/trail/
Author: Raymond Masleck

'STOP BUSTING GROWERS, PUT RESOURCES TO BETTER USE'

Meet the candidates: Marijuana Party

The last federal election campaign featured a candidate who advocated 
"yogic flying," but as far as Dan Loehndorf is concerned, that's not aiming 
to get high enough.

AKA Reverend Damuzi of the Church of the Universe, Loehndorf is contesting 
the Kootenay-Boundary-Okanagan election on behalf of the Marijuana Party. 
Pot Party members want their favourite plant legalized and hope to run 
candidates in about 50 ridings nationally.

Despite his messianic good looks and ability to raise the $1,000 needed to 
register as a candidate, the 33-year old Nelson resident isn't talking the 
usual candidate's talk about running to win.  In fact, there is very little 
that's usual about this candidate.

"This will mostly be a message-oriented campaign," said the soften-spoken, 
dreamy-eyed writer for Cannabis Culture Magazine.  "But you never know - 
sometimes the spirit provides in interesting ways."

His message is simple - the state should leave pot smokers and growers 
alone, deregulate the hemp industry, and deal with more serious issues.

"We believe that the combined amount we spend on (marijuana) law 
enforcement, courts, and the additional amount lost in potential tax 
revenue (from pot), amounts to about $20 billion annually.  We would like 
to spend these funds on something more useful, like health care, education 
or improving the Canada Pension and unemployment insureance systems.

"If you have a heart attack, you could easily die before the ambulance gets 
to you or if you need an operation you could die before an operating room 
is available.  But if you put a pot plant in your window, someone will be 
by to arrest you in no time.  This is a problem that calls for the 
reallocation of our resources."

Loehndorf supports "harm-reduction" strategies such as ingesting the plant 
rather than inhaling it and not operating machinery while under the 
influence.  But he insists the notion that marijuana is a dangerous drug 
and must be prohibited is absurd.

"There has never been a fatality due to marijuana.  There is no evidence 
that there are any negative health consequences.  All of the addiction 
studies place coffee and cigarettes above marijuana in terms of 
addictiveness.  So why aren't the police going after coffee drinkers?"

Marijuana is already a big part of the economy, especially in the West 
Kootenay, so why not legalize and tax it, reasons Loehndorf.

Hemp - a form of marijuana without the drug content - also has economic 
potential as a pulp source, among other uses, he said.  But because of 
fears that hemp fields will be used to hide marijuana crops, this legal 
plant is so heavily regulated that its cultivation has been stifled.

As he is in the process of legally changing his name to Reverend Damuzi, 
Loehndorf does not yet know which of his names will appear on the ballot. 
His Church of the Universe believes that marijuana is "the tree of life".

"It's OK to get stoned for the fun of it.  But I personally use marijuana 
sacramentally, which means I use it for contact with the divine."

More information is available from his home page at "damuzi.virtualave.net" 
(there is no "www" in front).
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