The is a
Canadian Federal Political Party that aims to end
Prohibition of
Cannabis . With the exception of this one issue, the party does not have "official policy" in any other area. Thus, Marijuana Party candidates are free to express their own personal views on all other political issues - even if such views contradict the personal opinions of other Marijuana Party candidates or the party leadership.
The party was founded by
Marc-Boris St-Maurice , an
Activist and member of the
Punk group
GrimSkunk . After a 1991 arrest for possession of
Marijuana , he vowed to legalize cannabis. He started by creating the
Bloc Pot , a
Quebec political party and eventually, as the current law prohibiting the possession of cannabis is a federal law, founded the federal Marijuana Party. On
February 28 ,
2005 , St-Maurice announced his intention to join the
Liberal Party in order to work for liberalized marijuana laws from within the governing party.
Blair T. Longley became the new party leader following St-Maurice's resignation.
In the November
2000 Federal Election , the party nominated candidates in 73
Ridings in seven provinces and won 66,419 votes (0.52% of national popular vote). In the June
2004 Federal Election , the party nominated almost the same number of candidates (71), but won only 33,590 votes (0.25% of the national popular vote). In the January
2006 Federal Election , the party ran candidates in only 23
Ridings and received 9,275 votes (0.06% of the national popular vote). In
Nunavut riding, however, the party's candidate won 7.88% of all ballots cast and finished in fourth place, ahead of the Greens.
The decline in the party's fortunes can largely be linked to two factors. First, in January 2004, changes were made to Canada's electoral laws which significantly reduced the fundraising abilities of so-called "fringe" parties including the Marijuana Party of Canada. Second, a number of currently-elected federal political parties, including the
Liberal Party Of Canada , the
Bloc Québécois (Bloc) and the
New Democratic Party (NDP), have been making small moves toward
Decriminalization of the drug. Additionally, the currently-unelected but vastly larger
Green Party Of Canada also endorses the full
Legalization of cannabis (in a manner similar to alcohol) as one part of their much broader platform.
The Marijuana Party of Canada could not exist without past victories in court. One such victory made each federal candidate's $1,000 nomination deposit fully refundable. Another reduced the number of candidates required for official party status from 50 to only 1.
The Marijuana Party is involved in another court case against the Canadian government to challenge the constitutional validity of minimum requirements for taxpayer subsidies. Presently, election financing laws provide $1.79 per vote per year (indexed to inflation) to any party which receives 2% or more in a federal general election. This system provides millions of dollars in support to larger parties while smaller parties receive nothing. This trial ended on July 5, 2006, with the judgement reserved until some time later in the Fall of 2006.
"Legalize marijuana and legalize a revolution."
In addition to the Bloc Pot party in Quebec, Marijuana Parties have several separate
Provincial counterparts, most notably, the
British Columbia Marijuana Party which received over 3% of the vote in the
2001 Provincial Election , and the
Marijuana Party Of Nova Scotia . The Bloc Pot and the Federal Marijuana Party work together,
however, the B.C. Marijuana Party and the Federal Marijuana Party do not work together.
