Pubdate: Sat, 12 Jan 2002
Source: Hour Magazine (CN QU)
Copyright: 2002, Communications Voir Inc.
Contact:  http://www.hour.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/971
Forum: http://www.afterhour.com/columns/c_forum.asp
Author: Charlie McKenzie
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

POTWELL SWAYED?

In his bizarre bid to replace himself as leader of the Canadian 
Alliance, is Stockwell Day courting Canadian pot-heads?

In his bizarre bid to replace himself as leader of the Canadian 
Alliance, is Stockwell Day courting Canadian pot-heads? A visibly 
stunned Day evaded that question Tuesday night, but the seeds of this 
intriguing suggestion were planted by Day himself shortly after his 
federal debut in a B.C. by-election, where one of his adversaries was 
Marc-Boris St-Maurice, leader of the federal Marijuana Party.

Day, who smoked dope in his youth, told a Kelowna all-candidate's 
meeting he was "working secretly, with Boris, to legalise pot." He 
might have been joking, but consider this: under his leadership, 
Alliance MP Keith Martin has sponsored a private members bill to 
decriminalize the herb, while party justice critic Randy White now 
chairs a Commons committee studying how to lighten Canada's drug laws.

Even famed hack-for-hire Matthew Johnson, fired last year for 
imitating his boss Rahim Jaffer on a radio call-in show, went to work 
for marijuana seed guru Marc Emery when the latter organized the B.C. 
Marijuana Party. Johnson was promptly rehired by the Alliance to work 
in Day's office.

At Day's leadership launch Tuesday night, this reporter approached 
and asked him if he "was courting the marijuana vote."

Day's wife chuckled. Day himself demurred. Moments later he was seen 
shaking hands with the leader of the Marijuana Party, so I naturally 
moved in and repeated the question.

"I'm sorry," Day said to Boris, "we can't talk here. Some guy's 
following me with a tape recorder."

Asked if he thought a re-elected Day would continue to pursue 
marijuana reform, St-Maurice hesitated.

"I really don't see anything to be optimistic about," he said. "But 
of all the declared candidates, he's the only one with a pot record - 
er, at least, 'on the record.'"

Stay tuned.
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