STANDING UP FOR NATURAL 'BENEFICIAL HERB'

A DISABLED man who smokes pot because he says conventional drugs do
not help with his medical condition is to stand as an election
candidate in West Chelmsford for the legalise Cannabis Alliance.

Father of two Christopher Philbin, who lives in Hatfield Peverel
suffers from arthritis and a Neurogical condition that can cause pain
and seizures.

He found conventional prescribed drugs gave him unpleasant side
effects, such as depression and anxiety.

The 31-year old, who is also known as 'Herb', then discovered using
cannabis not only helps relieve his symptoms, but did not have the
side-effects.

However, Mr Philbin also believes cannabis should be legal for
recreational use: "God gave it to us - it out of the floor, it's
natural, it makes people happy and it has no side effects.

"If you can't make a decision about using a beneficial herb in
today's society, how can you make a decision on anything?"

Mr Philbin said other drug such as ecstasy should also be lawfully available.

"I think we should have something in place like they do in Holland,
where if you're going to take a drug like Ecstasy, you can get hold
of it knowing its been tested for poisons and strength," he said.

"I believe the only reason people die after taking Ecstasy - and
there aren't that many of them considering how many people use it -
is because of drug ignorance. Because it's illegal, people take a
pill 'without knowing how strong it is or what's in it.

"There are far more lives claimed by alcohol and tobacco every year,
but that's allowed because it's socially acceptable and the
Government makes money from it?'

Mr Philbin said he was standing for Parliament because he was fed up
with what he calls "armchair anarchists". He said: "Everybody sits
around on a Friday night getting stoned and just talks about this
being wrong and that being wrong and how they could put the world to
rights.

"So I decided to stand up and try to do it. Everything in society is
so selfish now. Everybody is worried about owning things and money,
when there are children starving to death on the other side of the
world.

"I'm not anti-capitalist, the world needs to ran. But it needs to get
its priorities right. William Hague said at the Conservative
Conference last year that the Houses of Parliament should have
representatives from every community. Well they aren't representing
the cannabis community - they reckon there's six million people using
the drug regularly and that 80% of people have tried it."

Also standing in Chelmsford West are Eleanor Burgess (Green), Simon
Burns (Con), Adrian longden Stephen Robinson (Lib Dem) and Ken Wedon
UKIP.