MARIJUANA CANDIDATES UP IN SMOKE

The Marijuana Party of Canada has all but blown town. And that
includes Kelowna candidate Huguette Plourde, who was parachuted in
from Montreal only to be parachuted right out again

Plourde is heading back to Montreal along with her boyfriend, Blair
Longley, candidate for North OkanaganShuswap and national party
president. The other Okanagan candidate, Jack Peach in
OkanaganCoquihalla, was not available for comment Thursday, but
Longley said Peach is so busy with other things "he told us he didn't
want to campaign or talk to the media." At issue is the split between
the national party and the B.C. party, which has decided to support
the NDP

"The big problem was that Jack Layton shmoozed the B.C. party into
endorsing the NDP and our whole infrastructure disappeared out from
under us," said Longley. "We've become a mature party like the others
in Canada. Our provincial and federal branches hate each other."
Longley said the party is stronger in Quebec, where the NDP is also
weaker

"Our goal is not to get elected, because we never will," said Longley.
"But we want to create enough notice so that the bigger parties steal
our ideas." The party received one-half of one per cent of the
national vote in 2000. If it can boost that share to two per cent, it
will qualify under new election financing rules for $400,000 in
federal funding

Longley said it doesn't matter if he and Plourde have left the area

"Once we register the candidates, the campaign is over for us anyway
because we don't have any money," said Longley. "Our vote comes from
the name Marijuana Party. It doesn't matter who is running. People who
vote for us want to protest." Longley said he wasn't surprised by
recent news that the right-wing Fraser Institute had supported the
legalization and taxation of marijuana, arguing that the federal
government is missing out on $2 billion in annual revenue

"We're on the same side," he said. "The Fraser Institute has just
applied consistent, rational economic principles to the issue." Chris
Bennett of the B.C. branch of the party said his members liked the
idea of hitching their wagon to the NDP's. "The NDP has a chance of
winning, while the national marijuana party isn't even in the
headlights," said Bennett. "Jack Layton has encouraged the pot smoking
audience that he would provide an environment to smoke pot in cafes
and to grow it legally

"We have a real front-runner candidate who is taking up our issue."