LEADER ISSUES STRAIGHT DOPE ON MARIJUANA PARTY PLATFORM

"We're Not Just An Excuse to Smoke Joints"

Marc (Boris) Saint-Maurice wants Canada to know the Marijuana Party is
more than an excuse to smoke joints.

Saint-Maurice is leader of the fledgling Marijuana Party and also
leader of the Bloc Pot, its Quebec provincial counterpart. Last week he
announced plans to take on Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day in
the Okanagan-Coquihalla byelection Sept.11.

To run against Day, Saint-Maurice needs to collect 100 signatures from
Okanagan-Coquihalla voters by today. That job, he said last week, is
something he can do with both hands tied behind his back or as they say
in Quebec, "with both fingers up my nose."

Saint-Maurice, 31, is taking a break from a career as a bass player for
a rock band to be a full-time marijuana advocate. He says the great
thing about pot as a political issue is that it crosses all party
lines.

"The only thing marijuana users have in common is the fact that they
use marijuana," he said during a stopover in Vancouver on his way to
campaign in the Okanagan. "That's what's good for a party like ours. We
really do have a large base from which we can draw."

The goal of the Marijuana Party is to end pot prohibition Saint-Maurice
said: "Let's stop prosecuting and persecuting people who chose to use
marijuana...

"We're not just an excuse to smoke joints. We are a legitimate
political party that is defending a legitimate social cause which has
massive support."

Some highlights from a conversation with Saint-Maurice:

Why are you running against Stockwell Day?

We're launching a federal party nationally and byelections are a good
opportunity for leaders to get known and to feel each other out as far
as position and policy. It's a chance to get to know this enigma we
call Stockwell Day.

Tell me about yourself. Unlike Bill Clinton, I take it you inhaled.

Myself and the marijuana party, we're of the opinion that asking
someone about their personal marijuana use is a terribly inappropriate
question. It has no bearing on someone's ability to run a campaign, it
has no bearing on whether or not they do their job, it's about as
relevant as asking them whether or not they've used tobacco. If the
state has no business in the bedroom, they have no business in your
ashtray.

Do you have positions on any other issues? Health care?

We think medical marijuana is great.

Tax Cuts?

Perhaps.

Do you have any political heroes?

Frank Zappa.

Who would you like to see hit with a pie?

Let's see them go throw pies at the bikers. Chretien's chump change
next to those guys.