Canada's prince of pot may be backing federal New Democrat leader Jack Layton. But one of his vassals is volunteering for Vancouver South Liberal incumbent candidate Ujjal Dosanjh, the Martin administration's health minister. In an interview, Sotos Petrides - who ran for the Marijuana Party in Ottawa West-Nepean during 2000 election - explained he was now helping Dosanjh because "I've been a proud Liberal for many, many years. I've helped Sheila Copps. I've helped Paul Martin. I've helped candidates in Ontario - Carolyn Parish...And I'm also helping other candidates here in Vancouver." Mr. Petrides explained he used to be involved with the Marijuana Party because "I was a hemp advocate - industrial hemp. And my view was that if the overall issue was liberalized then it would be easier for hemp farmers to get permits to grow hemp." Mr. Petrides was also formerly president of Wiseman Noble Sales & Marketing Ltd., a firm that organized industrial hemp conferences.
Winning the Cheech and Chong vote
January 16, 2006
Only a dope would work for Dosanjh - but at least Ujjal is an expert with Zig Zag!
Sorry it's off-topic but I heard Mark Marissen being last week on Bill Good's 'panel'. What a doofus!
Can anyone refresh our memory on this sleazy worm's connection to the Basi scandal?
Marissen was involved in the Basi scandal as much as Harcourt was involved in Bingogate. All bullshit.
The Bassi boys were introduced to Christy Clark and Mark Marissen by Mr. Clean Prem Vinning, and they were used to do their political dirty work. Use them and lose them.....
Prem Vinning was a big-time pro-Chretien guy, anti-Martinite. Please explain, Peter V.
This guy is an embarassment to the Greek community.
Advocate for marijuana...what an idiot!
Ujjal just attracts all the best, doesn't he?!
Interesting you raise Marissen. He was in the news recently with this case. Doesn't sound like he had anything to do with it other than the fact he was in charge of the campaign, and those guys (Basi and Virk) were working on it.
See below.
CLARIFICATION Monday, January 16, 2006 Page A2
Globe and Mail
RCMP officers investigating a fraud case involving former Liberal Party aides in British Columbia did not raid the offices of Mark Marissen in 2004 as reported in a story last week. As the story stated, Mr. Marissen was not a suspect, and the Mounties in question were inquiring if he had documents that might have some bearing on the case.
As far as I'm concerned, the Liberals can keep the pot-smoking freaks.
We don't want to legalize marijuana. I can tell you from experience that it is an evil, evil drug.
We have enough people on welfare as it is.
"I can tell you from experience that it is an evil, evil drug. We have enough people on welfare as it is."
Dagmar are you blaming your own comments on past drug use? I know many pot heads, and the stuff you were smoking must have been laced in order to incite you to spit out such nonsense.
Yes, I am a recovering pot addict. No, it wasn't laced. When I was on pot, I didn't want to do anything. I stopped going to work, lost my marriage, and my trailer. It nearly wrecked my life. Many people in the freaky left wouldn't necessarily see the inability to work as a detriment. But somebody's gotta pay the bills.
How is it that pot heads can campaign anyway? Shit, in two weeks, they'd probably only knock on about three doors, and that would be including the local bong shops. And the 7-11 to pick up a bag of Doritos. That was my favourite thing, along with Bob Marley music.
Well your assertion that it is evil and that it leads to welfare, is not the norm. I'd say it is more likely a crutch for other problems that you were having. Most people I know treat it like alcohol, and I know well paid execs who tuck bags away in fancy china kits.
If you decide not to get up and go to work, and then smoke pot as an alternative, yes its very true that it can kill your motivation. I know people working warehouse style jobs who smoke it all day and can function, but I think the norm for most is to have it as a weekend or evening treat, much like having a glass of wine. Then again I see many wino's on the steet as well.
Legalization and regulation (not decriminalization) at least would give society a means to treat it as a health problem when required, but also move it into establishmentas where people if they want can go out, like a bar, have a joint, and go home. The worst temptation for people is when they have to go pick it up off a dealer, who may or not be slanging much worst substances, and then they pick up a fair quantity which is always around them.
I think Dagmar is attempting a bit of humour, no?
To be serious, it does stand out that as early as December 3rd, in Burnaby, Harper promised a new, American style drug policy, one that could have and probably did come straight from the desk of John Walters, the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under President George W. Bush.
{http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/walters-bio.html}
Harper promised that a Conservative Govt will NOT reintroduce the bill that decriminalizes marijuana possession, and that the Federal Health Dept would dissallow safe injection sites, whether the existing one in Vancouver or proposed ones in Victoria and Toronto. In part this is an obvious pandering to Tory core voter sentiment in Alberta and other Bible Belt locales, but more than anything it's a case of expressing fealty to the Bush Republican Party from which the Canadian Conservative Party has drawn critically important technical assistance on campaigning, fundraising, polling, advertising, and the like for over thirty years.
How far back in time might we march if we are effectively following the Walters plan? Well, one of Walter's proposals in the US is for ALL, that's right ALL, American university and college students to be subject to mandatory, random drug tests, that is urine tests, as a deterrent to drug use on campus.
Most of the Liberal "scary" Harper stuff is so weak it's funny, but on this subject Harper really does want to take the country back to 1910. It's too bad that to rid the nation of corruption we may have to put up with several years of dangerous Victorian moralizing and stupidity.
This thread confirms my suspicion that you must be smoking dope to support Jack Layton.
That's pretty weak, Kevin. For forty years I have grown increasingly frustrated and angry with those on either side of the pot versus booze divide, each willing to lie their bloody face off to the effect that the other one is inherently and fundamentally more dangerous, and that their habits are really no problem at all. It's sickening enough to listen to that kind of nonsense from teenagers justifying their weekend binges, but it's intolerable to have to put up with such brazen insincerity and irresponsibility coming from supposed adults.
Bullshit Kevin. I support Jack Layton and I'm not smoking dope. I'm in recovery.
It's the NDP that is the party of the working man. Not the white-collar bobos of the Conservative Party or the Quebec dandies of the Liberal Party.
Anyone who supports Layton is nuts.
Layton has sold out the NDP to get a Conservative government, so that he can have something real to fight against so he can gain more seats in another election. But that doesn't provide results for anyone other than maybe 10-20 new seats in the House in the distant future.
He says the Conservatives and the Liberals are essentially the same.
Fact is, he never had it so good under the Liberals. He got to call the shots on the budget, on national daycare, and all kinds of other things.
Now we're going to have a Conservative majority because Layton, until recently, refused to say anything about Harper, and focused his entire attack on Martin. It's too late, Jack - the corporate media have annointed Harper now.
Under four years of Harper rule, what will New Democrats accomplish?
That's pretty funny, laytonnuts!
The corporate media in Canada annointing Harper. Corporate media as in that controlled by the staunch Tory Izzy Asper? Pravda (CBC)? The Grope & Flail?
Moonbat or Lieberal? Choose your poison.
As a member of the Greek community I can assure any reader that Sotos is an intelligent, informed and honest person. He has a solid reputation for volunteering and helping others, Greek and non-Greek alike, and we are proud to have him as part of the Greek community.