MARIJUANA: NO NEW TAXES

Marijuana Party candidate Denise Briere-Smart is a political newcomer but
wants to have an impact on where her tax dollars are going.

The 30-year-old married mother of five boys, Briere-Smart is a homemaker
and also operates an in-home skin care business.

Briere-Smart, a 10-year resident of Maple Ridge, became frustrated with her
lack of voice in the community after hearing her children's school bus was
being canceled.

She chose the Marijuana Party because her research showed her the benefits
of the herb. She also noted the court system was jammed with
marijuana-related cases.

"It's wasting our tax dollars," she said, noting that alcohol is legal and
can kill.

While she approves of the medicinal use of marijuana, she doesn't condone
children smoking pot, drawing a comparison to alcohol use.

She says the party is not a one-platform party. It wants direct public
democracy, a school voucher system to allow parents more choices in
education, strong opposition to U.S. military presence in B.C. and no new
taxes.

It also favours an end to street prostitution by legalizing licensed
brothels and offering restorative justice as an option for victims of crime.

"If we don't take care of our kids now, they won't take care of us in the
future," she said.

Briere-Smart believes in compromise and wants to get involved with
budgeting, something she's familiar with being a part of a one-income
family. She also took one year of certified general accounting courses at UBC.