EX-MARIJUANA PARTY LEADER SIGNS ON WITH FEDERAL LIBERALS

MONTREAL -- The former leader of the Marijuana party says he's joining the
Liberals to further the cause of legalizing marijuana.

Marc-Boris St-Maurice, who ran in Prime Minister Paul Martin's riding in
2004 and won only several hundred votes, says he's now a member in good
standing of Martin's party.

He said on Monday he will attend the Liberal policy convention this weekend
to help rally support for a resolution calling for the legalization of
marijuana.

"To take this to the next level will require a political organization with
power," he said, adding the Liberals are the party most likely to legalize pot.

"There's actually quite an open mind out there in regards to this issue in
the Liberal party," he told CBC Radio in Montreal. As an observer at the
convention, St-Maurice said he'll drum up support for a motion from Alberta
Liberals urging Ottawa to legalize marijuana and distribute it to Canadians
with large taxes on it.

But St-Maurice, set to face trial this spring on a charge of possessing
three grams of marijuana, said he won't bring pot to the meeting or smoke
it there.