GREENS GO PRO-GRASS

Canada's Green party Leader Elizabeth May apologized on Wednesday for
never having smoked marijuana, as she unveiled her election plank,
which touts legalizing and taxing pot.

"I am not a fan of marijuana use," May told reporters. "I've never
used marijuana. I apologize."

The Green party in its policy document said decades-old marijuana
prohibition "has utterly failed and has not led to reduced drug use."

Rather, prohibition has led to costly policing to combat its
distribution, "criminalizing youth and fostering organized crime," it
argues.

The Green party says it supports cannabis sales to adults through
licensed distributors.

As well, the party would like to see "small, independent growers"
thrive, and the government taxing the weed at the same rate as
tobacco, generating an estimated $1 billion a year.