Pubdate: Thu, 01 Feb 2007
Source: Sheaf, The (CN SN Edu)
Copyright: 2007 Sheaf Publishing Society, Inc.,
Contact:  http://www.thesheaf.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2691
Author: Charles Hamilton, Editor-in-Chief

THE RELEVANCE OF POT POLITICS

On the Front Lines of the First-Ever Saskatchewan Marijuana Party Convention

Huddled in the dimly-lit basement of a bar in downtown Saskatoon, a 
small group of marijuana activists joke about their political future.

"People don't take us very seriously," one of them laughs as he tucks 
his dreadlocks behind his ear. "But we take ourselves pretty 
seriously, and that's all that matters."

If not for the faint stench of smoke clinging to many of the members' 
clothing, it would be hard to separate this congregation from any 
other small-scale political gathering.

There is an acrid air of seriousness in the room. Constituency maps 
scribbled with red marker are pinned on the walls.

The large table at the back is littered with leaflets, petitions, and flyers.

At the front of the room, two young members are explaining the policy 
documents projected on to a large television screen -- if only for a 
moment, the fervent idealism and adolescence of the pot movement 
seems juxtaposed against a real sense of political urgency. The two 
younger members at the front are wearing suits; others simply sport 
the party logo on their t-shirts. Many of them have been here since 
the early morning, debating policy, amending their constitution, and, 
believe it or not, strategizing about how their party can win seats 
in the next election.

"We are going to run as many candidates as we can," says Nathan 
Holowaty, leader of the Saskatchewan Marijuana Party. "If there are 
candidates who want to run in every riding, we will run candidates in 
every riding."

According to Statistics Canada, in 2004, 4.5 million Canadians (14 
per cent of the population) admitted to smoking marijuana during the 
year. More than double that number, about 30 per cent of the Canadian 
population, say they have smoked marijuana at least once in their 
lifetime. However, despite the drug's obvious popularity and 
widespread use, legalization and decriminalization issues have yet to 
become major political concerns for most Canadians.

One of the obvious reasons for this lack of support is purely 
demographic: in the 2004 study, 70 per cent of young people aged 
18-24 said they used marijuana. This is the same age group routinely 
accused of political apathy and dismal voting records.

But there is plenty of evidence to show that Canadians of all age 
groups support the idea of a marijuana law reform.

Why is it, then, that Canada has failed to mobilize behind the pot movement?

Could it be that pot politics have become irrelevant?

"I guess it's a good idea to have someone like the Marijuana Party 
push for legalization in the long run," says 23-year-old J.H., as he 
flicks the ash from a joint he is casually smoking outside of his 
suburban home, "but I think you have to go with the multi-issue party 
there are other important issues out there other than marijuana."

J.H. is a self-professed marijuana user who has been smoking on a 
regular basis since high school. Like many regular users, he admits 
having pot legalized would ease some of his concerns about smoking 
the drug, but in the end, he says he is more concerned politically 
about larger, more pressing issues. "You have to think about the 
better good. You cant just cut out everything else so you can smoke 
pot more often."

At the Saskatchewan Marijuana Party's first official convention, the 
topic of how best to push the marijuana agenda was front and centre.

The party has been around since 2004, but was only officially 
ratified in June of last year. For most members, the notion of 
actually winning seats in the Legislature is nothing more than a pipe dream.

Even their relatively successful political cousins to the west, the 
BC Marijuana Party, whose roots grow in one of North America's most 
notorious centres of pot culture, were unable to make a significant 
impact, having only captured 0.65 per cent of the popular vote. For 
the SMP, then, the focus is not so much winning seats, but rather 
raising awareness about the issue.

"I think we are going to make a larger impact than any marijuana 
party has ever done in Canada," boasts Holowaty. "There are fewer 
parties here than there are in BC, and therefore we think we have a 
stronger voice."

It seems the issue of how exactly to go about making a larger impact 
is a matter of some debate. Ken Sailor, a long-time marijuana 
activist and influential party member, is right in the middle of the 
dispute. "You try to attack the obvious things," he says. "You try to 
win the small battles."

While Sailor maintains that the party should remain a one issue 
party, members like Ethan Erkiletian, the current president of SMP, 
are looking to expand the party beyond the boarders of pot politics. 
At the convention, Erkiletian put forward various motions pertaining 
to areas of social justice not directly related to marijuana or drug 
law reform.

Most of them were shot down after Sailor made his case for sticking 
to the one-issue party platform.

"If you don't have a one-issue party like this, the message is not 
going to get heard," Sailor explains. "We are not the Green Party or 
the NDP. We are the Marijuana Party."

The SMP claims they have enough interest to run at least 15 
candidates in the next provincial election. Although they expect to 
have virtually no impact as far as actual votes count, the SMP claims 
that their presence has already been felt.

The NDP passed a resolution at their last provincial convention 
saying they want to see a legalized marijuana regime in Saskatchewan. 
Of course, it is obvious the NDP government still has its 
reservations about reforming marijuana laws, and it is not likely 
that they would implement such a regime anytime soon. Nonetheless, 
the SMP says it is a force to be reckoned with.

"The other parties aren't being as vocal as they should be," Holowaty 
says. "We are going to hold their feet to the fire."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Elaine