Pubdate: Fri, 20 Apr 2001
Source: Kamloops This Week (CN BC)
Copyright: 2001 Kamloops This Week
Contact:  http://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1271
Author: Dave Dormer

FRUGALITY HALLMARK OF MARIJUANA CANDIDATE

Somewhere along Vern Falk's journey through life he got a little sidetracked.

In 1976, the B.C. Marijuana Party candidate for Kamloops-North Thompson 
stopped at Tod Mountain to visit a friend and, 24 years later, he's still here.

"It was a totally undeveloped ski hill at the time. There was only a 
handful of people who worked there and not many skiers."

Through the years, Falk made a living through the ski industry, working as 
a ski technician at Tod Mountain and at different companies around Kamloops.

"I worked for Dolson's, Glacier Ski Service, DB Pool and Ski."

Married with three children and one grandchild, Falk says he became 
disenchanted with the business side of the ski industry.

"The commercialization ruined it for me. I haven't skied in years."

Once out of the skiing industry, Falk began to involve himself in another 
passion, the environment.

"Over the years, I figure I've recycled more than five million board feet 
of timber. I did the wood from the Carneau Bridge, Chase Bridge and the Red 
Bridge when it was done. They don't make wood now like they used to, they 
can't."

Using recycled wood, he says, can save plenty of money. His house is living 
proof as Falk paid $3.21 for it.

"I built a 1,300-square-foot basement to put it on top of and then moved my 
house. I don't think you could find one that cheap anywhere nowadays."

Like many Marijuana Party candidates, Falk says the election isn't so much 
about legalizing marijuana as it is about protecting personal freedoms.

"It's none of anyone's business whether I smoke just as it's none of my 
business  whether you do. It's especially none of the government's business."

Getting involved in the political process was a quick step for the 
Saskatchewan native.

"I was surfing around on the Internet one day and I came across the 
Marijuana Party site. The next day I was meeting the people I was reading 
about."

Many people brand the Marijuana Party to be concerned solely with the 
legalization of the drug, but Falk, also a vegetarian, says there is much 
more to his platform than that.

"I'm very concerned with what's happening with the economy. People need 
money to live. Maybe that's why so many people are turning to growing 
marijuana because they don't have jobs."

The campaign will also mark his first venture into the political spectrum 
as he has never been involved with a political party.

COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE

* Member of Earthsave and Earth Trustees.

* Leader of The Greengang, a local recycling and construction group.

FUN FACTS

* Last CD bought: Self Made by Bob Marley.

* Last book read: Vital Signs by Robin Cook.

* If he was trapped on a desert island, what three things would he take: 
Food, water and a computer.
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MAP posted-by: GD