CANDIDATE RUNS FOR MAYOR FROM JAIL

WEST NIPISSING, Ont. -- A marijuana advocate says he expects to be
released from jail in time to campaign to become mayor of this
northeastern Ontario town.

Speaking from a North Bay, Ont., jail, Michel Ethier said he has no
plans to withdraw from the race even if he is the only challenger to
incumbent Joanne Savage.

"I have no intention of throwing in the towel," said Ethier, who is
awaiting trial for marijuana related offences. "If she wants to pull
out ... that's fine with me."

With acclamations expected in each of the community's seven wards,
some residents have said Ethier should withdraw because it could cost
the municipality as much as $50,000 for a mayoral campaign that most
voters won't take seriously.

Savage said she would never suggest anyone should be forced to
withdraw from an election. But she said residents are upset at the
possibility of footing the bill for an election only to hear a
platform they've all heard before.

Ethier, 49, finished a distant third in 1998 and garnered 63 votes in
his second run at the mayor's seat in 2003.

He has also run for the Marijuana Party in the last two federal elections.

Ethier, who was in jail during the 2003 election, said he expects to
be released next month in time to launch his campaign.

A minister with the pro-pot Church of the Universe, Ethier said he
would like to see West Nipissing farmers embrace hemp as a crop.