MARIJUANA PARTY CANDIDATE HAS NEVER TOUCHED THE WEED

MAPLE RIDGE - A Marijuana party candidate has entered the federal
race -- but he has never smoked marijuana.

Dan Banov, a 30-year Maple Ridge resident, said he wants to represent
the Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge-Mission riding in Ottawa because he's
tired of crime and thinks he can do something to curb it.

Just this week Banov was a victim of crime.

The 58-year-old husband and father, who owns a business in Hope, said
he has to spend $1,000 to replace a window "because somebody smashed
it in to steal a couple of bottles of booze."

These crimes, he added, don't have to be routine.

"The philosophies of the Marijuana party make a lot of sense," he said Monday.

"The prohibition of drugs has not solved any problems with regards to crime."

Banov figures he can represent the platform of the Marijuana party,
even without having toked.

"It's just important to be able to stand up for the things that you believe in."