The BC By-election Results Are In
British Columbia's Vancouver-Burrard and Vancouver-Fairview ridings were won by New Democratic Party candidates Spencer Herbert (6,516 votes, 50.11%) and Jenn McGinn (5,487 votes, 46.66%) respectively. Voter turnout was very low, with only 20-26% bothering to cast a ballot. Marc Emery received 356 votes (2.73%), and 155 votes (1.32%) were cast for Jodie Emery.
Visit www.Elections.BC.ca for more information and details.
The BC Marijuana Party signs, handouts and buttons were very effective during campaigning, and Marc and Jodie got some media (see CTV article and video, and Metro News coverage here, here, and here). Many people learned how prohibition causes crime, gangs, violence and murders, and the way to stop all that is to repeal prohibition.
Thank you to everyone who supported the campaign with donations and volunteer time. Marc and Jodie spent many hours over ten days standing on the street with signs and pamphlets, giving away over 10,000 informative handouts with the assistance of volunteers Ilan, Eduardo, Ellis, Morgan, Dan, Este and others. Thanks for the help!
Now we prepare for the May 2009 general election, which we need 83 candidates for to run a full slate. Contact the BC Marijuana Party to get involved!
Announcement of Campaign
Marc Emery and his wife Jodie Emery will be candidates for the BC Marijuana Party in the BC provincial by-election. The two ridings of Vancouver Burrard and Vancouver Fairview will have voting on Wednesday, October 29th.
Marc is downtown in Vancouver-Burrard, and Jodie is south of downtown in Vancouver-Fairview (Click to see maps).
Our Platform for British Columbia
Addressing the issues that BC citizens are most concerned about
ECONOMY
• Tax and regulate marijuana and other illegal drugs, and use the funding for housing, hospitals, schools, and transit
• Move the underground economy from criminal control into the legitimate economy by making illegal drugs legal
• Stop spending money on police drug enforcement, and re-prioritize budgets to focus on better law enforcement (identity theft, violent assaults, gun crime)
• Offer tax incentives to help the forestry industry convert to hemp manufacturing and production, and produce materials domestically
• Spend less on prison expansion, and more on homes, hospitals, and schools
• Become the leading country in producing hemp, the most renewable and sustainable resource, for jobs in manufacturing and industry
ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY
• Become the leading industrial nation in producing hemp ethanol, plastics, concrete and building materials
• Invest in hemp technology to keep energy production and manufacturing jobs in Canada
• Cut down on carbon emissions by using hemp fuel and solar power
• Utilize hemp instead of trees for making paper products (toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, writing and copy paper) to save and protect our forests
HEALTH CARE
• Change illegal drugs from being a legal issue into a health issue
• Reduce illegal drug addict visits to hospitals by creating substance maintenance programs and expanding the supervised injection site facility
• Eliminate disease spread and death from unsafe drug use by getting users in maintenance programs and providing a safe supply of controlled-dose drugs
• Release non-violent drug offenders from prisons and use the money to open up new hospital and long-term care beds for patients
• Expand medical marijuana research and begin licensing and regulating compassion clubs/medical marijuana dispensaries
• Create a safe and secure indoor production site for licensed medical marijuana patients to grow their medicine without fear of home invasion
• Reopen Riverview Hospital to provide safe immediate housing for the most at-risk in society, including the poor, women, and minorities
• Use the taxes from marijuana sales to build more hospitals, cover medical expenses of the growing elderly population, provide drugs for addicts through maintenance programs, and supply other essential drugs like insulin
• End prescription requirements for adults who regularly use the same drugs, which would save millions of dollars by reducing expensive doctor prescription refill visits
CRIME & GANGS
• Get rid of gangs and organized crime by legalizing and regulating illegal drugs, which would remove their financial incentive and shift the enormous drug trade profit to the legitimate financial markets
• Stop public shootings and targeted hits by people involved in the drug trade
• End the spread of grow-operations and drug labs by creating a safe, secure and regulated industry for producing and distributing drugs properly
• Reduce home invasions, property crime, and prostitution by removing the need to engage in criminal acts to get illegal drugs
• Help the poor and addicted get into treatment and maintenance programs
• Prevent young people from joining gangs and getting drawn into the drug trade
• Release non-violent drug offenders from prisons to keep space open for truly violent, dangerous and/or repeat offenders
• Pardon the millions of Canadians who have simple marijuana possession on their criminal record so they can travel and hold a job without problems
• Clean up the Downtown Eastside by getting addicted people into maintenance programs and treatment, and eliminating the open drug trade
• Eliminate drug sales to minors
JUSTICE & POLICE
• Stop the use of Tasers by police
• Require police to undergo regular mental health screening, and ensure officers complete anger management courses if any acts of brutality are documented
• Abolish the RCMP in British Columbia and establish a provincial police force
• Create an independent police complaints office to review and respond to problems
• Release non-violent drug offenders from prisons and better monitor and rehabilitate the violent and/or dangerous criminals released into society
• Shift police resources from drug enforcement to law enforcement
• Refrain from convicting anyone for possession to free up court time and jail space
• Move drug squad officers from “grow busting” to murder and gang investigation
• End police and judicial corruption
• Advocate for rehabilitative justice instead of punitive justice
• Focus on victim compensation, and rehabilitating offenders
Do you have any concerns that were not covered?
Please contact us an express your thoughts! We would love to incorporate more of the issues that matter to you, the voter.
Marc@CannabisCulture.com
Jodie@CannabisCulture.com
Office phone: (604) 689-0590
Home phone: (604) 685-8260
Visit the BCMP Headquarters at 307 West Hastings Street in Vancouver, BC
Support us in our campaign!
Marc and Jodie need support! If you live in either riding, tell everyone you know to vote EMERY on October 29th! You can come to "Marc Emery's Cannabis Culture Headquarters" at 307 West Hastings Street to meet Marc and Jodie, and get buttons and pamphlets to hand out.
Donations are also welcome, and will help pay for buttons, signs, and voter cards to promote the platform of personal freedom and an immediate repeal of marijuana prohibition. You can donate by making a cheque or money order out to "Marc Emery Official Agent" and sending it to:
Emery Election Campaign
307 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC
V6B 1H6
* Only Canadians can donate -- sorry!
You can also donate via PayPal to the Emery Election campaign by sending funds to JodieEmery@gmail.com or visiting the ChipIn page at emeryelection.chipin.com.
Remember: Thanks to provincial tax credits, BC residents can afford a generous contribution to the BCMP and Marc Emery's BCMP campaign. You pay only a small portion of your total donation!
- $50 costs you just $12.50, because you get $37.50 back in tax credits
- $100 costs you just $25
- $250 costs you $100
- $500 costs you $225, etc.
(The BC Elections Act requires us to verify all donations greater than $100.00 with a signature. If you donate more than $100.00, we will contact you via email to collect your signature.)
Thank you for the support!
Vote for Jodie and Marc Emery in BC on October 29th!
Jodie & Marc Emery Campaign on Facebook
Jodie & Marc Emery Campaign at ChipIn
Authorized by Michelle Rainey, Financial Agent, (604) 466-1219
