Pubdate: Fri, 06 May 2005 Source: Prince Rupert Daily News (CN BC) Copyright: 2005 Sterling Newspapers Ltd. Contact: http://www.canada.com/princerupert/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/654 Author: Leanne Ritchie Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) CANDIDATE SHARES VISION FOR THE FUTURE The B.C. Marijuana Party has some ideas that could light up the North Coast economy, says the local Marijuana Party candidate. David Johns, a 40-year-old flag person and longshoreman from Stewart, is running for B.C.'s fourth-largest party, the B.C. Marijuana Party, which has 44 candidates in the upcoming election. "I'm running because they weren't represented in the riding, not at least until I came along," said Johns, who noted some people won't want to vote for either the NDP, Liberals or Green Party. The biggest issue for Johns in the next election is jobs for northerners. He said one option to employ laid off forestry workers would be to open the area to cultivating hemp, rather than timber, as a fibre source. In addition, he said the marijuana plants in general act as both a natural pesticide and herbicide, which could prevent the further spread of the mountain pine beetle. According to the B.C. Marijuana Party platform, if the party was elected it would invest in industrial hemp secondary manufacturing including oil, textile, fuel, paper and particle board production. "Forestry needs to get stuff happening again," said Johns. Johns is not a newcomer to the political arena. He has run for Stewart city council both as mayor and councillor, missing a seat on council in the last election by a small margin. He continues to be a regular in the gallery at Stewart city council. While mining and the container port projects do have the region looking up, he'd also like to see the Stewart-Omenica Resource road completed, regardless of who wins the election. "It's been on the radar screen for six years now," he said, noting Stewart has gone through two mayors, including Andy Burton who went on to become Conservative MP in Ottawa, and yet the project has yet to be completed. "We'd like to get to work up here, definitely," he said. "We are a town of 300 capable of housing 3,000. Our capacity is under utilized. It's the same thing in Rupert." The B.C. Marijuana Party platform is based on the legalization of marijuana and the end of the persecution of the cannabis community. The party's platform accuses the Liberals of behaving in a style similar to the federal U.S. government -- increasing the number of police to target marijuana grow operations, misleading the public about the links between cannabis and cocaine, calling for a registry of hydroponic purchases, calling for U.S.-style penalties for grow operations and encouraging foreign government police to harass British Columbians. More than 10 million Canadians or 41.3 per cent have used marijuana, says the party. In 2003, the overall rate of arrests for cannabis use were down 18 per cent across the country but up three per cent in B.C. According to the party platform, in 2000-2001, government wasted $5 million prosecuting people for possession. For everyone who gets a jail sentence, it costs the taxpayers an addition $150 a day to house them in jail. If B.C. marijuana growers are jailed for two years, importers and traffickers for one year, and those in possession for 30 days, as proposed under the Liberal plan, it will cost the province $631 million a year. The B.C. Marijuana Party believes that by legalizing cannabis, it can save taxpayers money and stimulate the provincial economy. The Fraser Institute, a right wing think tank, estimated the province could realize two billion dollars in provincial revenue from taxing B.C.'s marijuana industry. - --- MAP posted-by: Elizabeth Wehrman