B.C. Marijuana Party endorses Greens for provincial election

http://www.straight.com/article-200892/bc-marijuana-party-endorsing-gree...

The B.C. Marijuana party, according to its president, Marc Emery, is rolling out an endorsement for the B.C. Green party in this year’s May 12 provincial election.

The high-profile cannabis crusader told the Straight that his party will not field candidates against the Greens, and he added that some familiar faces in the party will run as Green candidates this time.

“We will be participating in that election in support of the Green party,” Emery said. “It’s expected that some of our membership and previous candidates—a few—will be Green candidates as well.”

Canada’s so-called Prince of Pot qualified that his party’s support doesn’t amount to an alliance but only a “one-time endorsement”.

Emery had actually proposed an alliance with the Greens, offering himself and his wife, Jodie, to become Green candidates in a meeting with Green party leader Jane Sterk in January this year.

But as Sterk told the Straight, Emery’s proposal was not accepted because “it was not in the best interest of the Green party”. Sterk didn’t confirm either way whether or not familiar B.C. Marijuana party personalities will be donning the Green colours in the election.

“Marc doesn’t speak for the Green party, so we will be announcing our candidates as they’re nominated,” she said. “They have to be a member of the B.C. Green party, and they have to not be a member of any other party.”

Emery related that his party is “excited” to support the B.C. Greens instead of the NDP because the latter has a disappointing record as the Opposition party to the B.C. Liberals. For example, he said, the NDP hasn’t been very vocal about issues like the increasing police presence and abuses in the province and overspending for the Olympics.

The B.C. Marijuana party is running only two candidates—Emery and another individual—to meet a registration requirement for parties to have two candidates in an election.

Emery said that the Greens aren’t prepared to have him in the fold because he is a “fairly iconoclastic person”. His impression about Sterk? Emery wrote on his party’s Web site that Sterk “has a bit of the stern school marm about her”.