Legalise Cannabis Alliance
|
|
Legalise_cannabis_alliance_emblem.jpg
- The use of cannabis ought to be a matter of choice and not of law
- The prohibition of cannabis is against the public interest
- The prohibition of cannabis contravenes Human Rights
- The prohibition of cannabis inhibits the use of a beneficial resource
- The legalisation of cannabis is a very important step that should be taken to benefit the people and the environment
| Contents |
History
In 1992 the Campaign to Legalise Cannabis International was formed in Norwich to fight politically for the legalisation of cannabis worldwide and, under the name Legalise Cannabis Alliance, this organisation was registered as a political party in the United Kingdom in March 1999. Registration occurred after Howard Marks had stood as a legalise cannabis candidate in four different constituencies of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom in the 1997 general election: Norwich North, Norwich South, Southampton Test and Neath. In the same general election Buster Nolan described himself as the New Millennium, New Way, Legalise Cannabis candidate in Braintree.
The first official LCA candidate in a House of Commons election was Colin Paisley in the November 1999 Kensington and Chelsea byelection. He took 141 (0.7%) of the votes. The second was Derrick Large in the May 2000 Romsey byelection. He took 417 (1.1%) of the votes.
In the June 2001 general election the LCA had candidates in 13 constituencies. Their best result was in Workington, where John Peacock took 1040 (2.5%) of the votes cast.
In January 2004 cannabis prohibition in the UK was relaxed. Cannabis had been a class B substance under the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act: it became a class C substance. Many people saw this change as virtual 'decriminalisation': it was a long way short of full legalisation.
In the May 2005 general election the LCA contested 21 constituencies. This was 8 more than in the 2001 general election, but included only 6 that had been contested in that previous election. In all these 6 constituencies the LCA suffered a fall in its share of the vote, and the average share across 21 constituencies was well down from that across the previous 13. There best results were in Leigh and Worthing East and Shoreham. In Leigh, Thomas Hampson took 1.5% of the votes. In Worthing East and Shoreham, Chris Baldwin also took 1.5%.
2005 general election performance
| Constituencies: | Candidates: | Votes: | Share (%): | Change: |
| Canterbury | Rocky van de Benderskum | 326 | 0.7 | N/A |
| Carlisle* | Lezley Gibson | 343 | 1.0 | -0.6 |
| Carmarthen East and Dinefwr | Sid James Whitworth | 272 | 0.7 | N/A |
| Carmarthen West and Pembrokeshire South | Alex Daszak | 236 | 0.6 | N/A |
| Conwy | Tim Evans | 193 | 0.6 | N/A |
| Dorset South | Vic Hamilton | 282 | 0.6 | N/A |
| Great Yarmouth | Michael Skipper | 389 | 0.9 | N/A |
| Hull East | Carl Wagner | 182 | 0.6 | N/A |
| Hull North* | Carl Wagner | 179 | 0.6 | -1.1 |
| Leigh | Thomas Hampson | 415 | 1.5 | N/A |
| Neath | Pat Tabram | 334 | 0.9 | N/A |
| Norwich South* | Don Barnard | 219 | 0.5 | -1.0 |
| Orkney and Shetland | Paul Cruickshank | 311 | 1.8 | N/A |
| Penrith and the Border* | Mark Gibson | 549 | 1.2 | -0.8 |
| Surrey East | Winston Matthews | 410 | 0.8 | N/A |
| Swansea West | Steve Pank | 218 | 0.7 | N/A |
| Vale of Clwyd | Jeff Ditchfield | 286 | 0.9 | N/A |
| Workington* | John Peacock | 381 | 1.0 | -1.5 |
| Worthing East and Shoreham* | Chris Baldwin | 677 | 1.5 | -0.6 |
| Worthing West | Chris Baldwin | 550 | 1.2 | N/A |
| Ynys Mon | Tim Evans | 232 | 0.7 | N/A |
- *Contested also in the general election of June 2001
Please see LCA in UK Parliament elections for details of performance in other elections.
See also
External link
Legalise Cannabis Alliance homepage (http://www.lca-uk.org/)