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AUSTRALIA In the 1970s J.J. McRoach ran for parliament as candidate for the Australian Marijuana Party . He had an advertising campaign funded by a well-meaning anonymous dealer. His party came fourth in the elections. CANADA In Canada , the Marijuana Party Of Canada was launched by the Québécois Bloc Pot in February 2000 to work at the federal level. There are also other party organizations at the provincial level. Saskatchewan The Saskatchewan Marijuana Party functions in a politically independent fashion, and does not yet hold any formal association to any other political organizations. Although not yet registered in the province as an officially recognized party, the required number of signatures have been collected from the electorate; the party founders would like to collect several more. The party is currently in the process of adopting a formal constitution crafted by an interim governing body headed by an interim president, treasurer, secretary and several vice presidents. The party leader is currently Nathan Holowaty, a University Of Saskatchewan graduate. Nathan Holowaty has referred to himself as a socially responsible libertarian and believes in the full scale legalization of cannabis. The party's president and chief executive is currently Ethan Erkiletian, an abstainer of substances and a self described Red Tory . Ethan is a former member of the Progressive Conservative Party Of Canada national council, and was dismissed from the council when it was found that he had stolen an idea for a publicity campaign, something which he has been said to deeply regret. Despite his membership falling into disfavour, Ethan has remained a supporter of the federal PC party where federal elections are concerned. British Columbia In British Columbia , the British Columbia Marijuana Party works independently from the Marijuana Party of Canada. Quebec In Quebec , the '' Québécois '' Bloc Pot ran in their first election campaign in 1998. In February 2000, the party launched the Marijuana Party Of Canada which ran 73 candidates in the 2000 Federal Election . Bloc pot is now the provincial counterpart of the Marijuana Party of Canada. Nova Scotia In Nova Scotia , there is the Marijuana Party Of Nova Scotia . ISRAEL In Israel the Ale Yarok (''Green Leaf'') party participated in the past three elections and was very close to pass to the parliament. However, they were unsuccessful in legalising marijuana. NEW ZEALAND (AOTEAROA) In New Zealand the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party ran for the first time in 1996. They have never had any Members of Parliament, but have averaged around 1% of the popular vote - one fifth of what is necessary to gain MPs under New Zealand's proportional representation system. A former member, Nandor Tanczos , is an MP as part of the New Zealand Green Party . (He was also New Zealand's first ever Rasta farian Member of Parliament). The party had candidates in the 2005 General Election . The New Zealand Green Party maintains a cannibis-reform policy, focussed around decriminalisation. SPAIN In Spain the Partido Cannabis participated in the Spanish General Election, 2004 , by standing candidates for seats in the Cortes in three provinces, ( Valencia , Alicante and Valladolid ). They scored between 0.35% and 1.11% of votes cast. UNITED KINGDOM In the United Kingdom there is the Legalise Cannabis Alliance . The Legalise Cannabis Alliance (LCA) was registered as a political party in March 1999 . The party drew inspiration from the performances of Howard Marks and Buster Nolan as independent ''legalise canabis'' candidates in the 1997 General Election . (Howard Marks stood in four different Constituencies of the House Of Commons .) By the time of the 2001 General Election the party had experience of campaigns in two House of Commons By-election s and various Local Government elections. In the general election the party contested 13 constituencies and their share of the vote ranged from 1.1% to 2.5%. In January 2004 cannabis prohibition in the UK was relaxed. Cannabis had been a class B substance under the Misuse Of Drugs Act 1971 : it became a class C substance. Many people saw this change as virtual 'decriminalisation': it was a long way short of full legalisation. The LCA contested 21 constituencies in the 2005 General Election . Their share of the vote ranged from 0.6% to 1.8%. Alun Buffry is perhaps the key figure in the party's organisation to date. See also: Cannabis Reclassification In The United Kingdom IRELAND In the Ireland there were attempts to etablish a Cannabis Legalisation Party however the government have so far refused to allow any such parties to be registered. A number of individuals including journalist Olaf Tyaransen have stood in various elections (national, Local and European) as independent candiates on a legalise cannabis platform. The only success to date has been the election of "Ming" Luke Flannigan to Roscommon County Council although it is generally accepted that Flannigan's success was also mainly due to his stance on other political issues. UNITED STATES In the United States there is the US Marijuana Party with local chapters in 29 states. There are also state-level parties. California In California there is the California Marijuana Party . Minnesota In Minnesota there is the Grassroots Party . New Jersey In New Jersey there is Ed Forchion 's Legalize Marijuana Party (LMP) Of South Jersey . New York State In New York State , in 1998 and 2002, the Marijuana Reform Party Of New York State ran candidates for governor and other statewide offices. In 2004, a federal judge held that, by running candidates in 1998 and 2002 statewide elections, the Marijuana Reform Party demonstrated a "modicum of support" sufficient to entitle it to an injunction compelling the state board of elections to recognize the party and allow voters to enroll in it. Viable in New York State because of its unique fusion political system, it remains the only political party in the United States recognized on a statewide level and dedicated to the advocacy of marijuana law reform. FOOTNOTE
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