MARIJUANA ACTIVIST'S ELIGIBILITY FOR B.C. NDP LEADERSHIP QUESTIONED
BY PARTY PRESIDENT

The B.C. NDP leadership race got off to a shaky start Wednesday, with
a dust-up over whether the first person to declare his candidacy was
a paid-up party member.

Marijuana activist Dana Larsen held a news conference to announce his
intention to campaign for the leadership. Three hours later, NDP
party president Moe Sihota said Mr. Larsen was ineligible because he
did not have a membership card.

Mr. Larsen subsequently blamed a clerical error at NDP offices for the mix-up.

He renewed his membership, changed his address and made a donation in
November, he said in a news release.

"The donation was processed, however, my address change, and now it
seems my membership, were not" said Mr. Larsen.

"Moe Sihota chose to resolve this clerical error through the media
rather than contacting me directly. That is highly irregular, " Mr.
Larsen said.

Earlier, Mr. Sihota said Mr Larsen may be ineligible even if he buys
a membership.

Mr. Larsen was a federal NDP candidate in the 2008 election campaign
who stepped down following controversy over his marijuana use.

"Having been deemed ineligible to run federally, that raises the
question if he could run provincial," Mr. Sihota said in an interview.

The rules committee for the leadership race is slated to meet next
week to set the eligibility requirements. Mr. Larsen may not qualify
under those rules, Mr. Sihota said. "He is currently ineligible, and
may be ultimately ineligible," he said.

However, Mr. Larsen insisted he could run. "I'm a member in good
standing in the NDP, as far as I know," he said. "I make monthly
donations on my credit card."

Mr. Larsen also said he voluntarily chose to resign as a federal NDP
candidate; he was not disqualified. "As far as I know, I would
qualify under any rules the party would set, or under any rules they
have set in the past. I cannot imagine any rule they would set that
would disqualify me," he said.

"I don't think this is Moe Sihota's decision," Mr. Larsen also said.
"I'm not really sure why he is saying that, but it is not up to the
party president. It is up to the party to set the rules."

Staff at NDP headquarters confirmed that Mr. Larsen had been a member
for a number of years, but had let his annual membership lapse
without renewing it.

Mr. Sihota said he expects more leadership candidates to announce
their intentions in January. The party is to pick a new leader on
April 17 in a system that gives a vote to every member who has been
in the party for at least 90 days. Ms. James resigned this month
after failing to quell an internal revolt by about a third of the NDP
caucus in the legislature.

Those thinking of entering the race are now likely talking to others
about their support, signing up new members and putting together
funds to finance their campaign, Mr. Sihota said. "That
infrastructure has to be in place before anyone announces," he said.

He expects unions to play a diminished role in the leadership choice
as a result of the one-member, one-vote system. "The members will
determine who to pick," he said.

The list of possible contenders includes MLAs Mike Farnworth, Bruce
Ralston, John Horgan and Adrian Dix, and from outside the caucus,
federal MP Peter Julian and Sierra Club BC executive director George Heyman.

Mr. Larsen, 39, is currently the director of the Medicinal Cannabis
Dispensary, which provides marijuana to about 2,700 people who have a
prescription from a doctor. Mr. Larsen was a candidate for the
federal Marijuana Party in an election in 2000 and founder of the
B.C. Marijuana Party.

Earlier Wednesday, Mr. Larsen told reporters he had been a member of
the NDP for seven years. He said he has a good chance of winning,
largely as a result of the one-member, one-vote system. He plans to
sign up a substantial number of new members, he said.

"My core constituency is medical cannabis users and people who want
to see an end to prohibition, which I think is a lot of people in
this province," Mr. Larsen said. "Anybody who believes in this issue
is a part of my core constituency."

He had quit the federal campaign because he did not want to distract
attention from the campaign of federal NDP Leader Jack Layton, he
said. He did not think that running in a leadership race for a
provincial party would be a problem.

Mr. Larsen also said he does not have a criminal record but he has
been refused admission to the United States. He once told U.S. border
officials that he had smoked marijuana. "For some agents, that is
enough," Mr. Larsen said, adding that he has not tried recently to
enter the U.S. and does not know if he would be stopped.