MACCAN'S MARIJUANA MAVERICK ENTERS RACE

Pot Advocate In Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley
Battle

AMHERST - The marijuana maverick is back to take a second crack at
becoming MP for Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley.

Rick Simpson, the Maccan man who believes he has found the cure for
cancer in a marijuana paste he calls hemp oil, said Friday that he
filed the necessary paperwork with the riding's returning officer
earlier this week.

"I'm running to get my message out," Mr. Simpson said. "I want to see
lives saved and get the country on its feet and straightened out. Hemp
is the answer to all our problems."

Since his last run for federal office in 2006, Mr. Simpson has been
convicted of trafficking in and illegally growing marijuana, but Mr.
Simspon doesn't believe he is a criminal. "What's criminal is the
corrupt big businesses and politicians who are preventing the message
from getting out."

As an example of the uphill battle to get the message out, he said he
will not be able to participate in an all-candidates meeting set for
Truro.

"They've told me I can't participate because I'm just a one-issue
candidate," he said. "Still, I would like to debate them and will
challenge the other candidates to debate the issue.

"I'm not just a one-issue candidate, either. I too am concerned about
the environment, about people's health and the economy, only I've
found the answer and the answer is hemp. My own work with my patients
proves that hemp oil will help cure people of cancer, psoriasis and
other diseases. We could cut millions from our health budget if it was
allowed to be used."

Marijuana would also help in the search for fuel sources, Mr. Simpson
said. Half a hectare of hemp would produce 1,893 litres of ethanol, he
said, but only 379 litres of bio-diesel.

If an average rural household were allowed to grow 1.6 hectares of
hemp, it would provide household energy needs and run all a family's
vehicles, he added..

Furthermore, he said, "They show all these starving children living in
harsh climates, but hemp can grow in those climates and the seeds
could feed the people."

If governments allowed the hemp industry to expand, "hundreds of
thousands of earth-friendly jobs could be created and we wouldn't have
to rely on fossil fuels," he said.

"We could leave them in the ground because they would not be
needed."

The riding is being contested by the incumbent, Bill Casey, along with
Joel Bernard (Tory), Liberal candidate Tracy Parsons (Liberal) and
Karen Olsson (NDP).