Cannabis Is Safer Than Alcohol
Cannabis Is Safer Than Alcohol | |
|---|---|
| Chairperson | Paul Birch[1] |
| Founded | 2015 |
| Ideology | Cannabis legalisation |
| Website | |
| cista | |
Cannabis Is Safer Than Alcohol (CISTA) is a political party in the United Kingdom which advocates for the legalisation of cannabis.
The party was launched in February 2015.[2] The party had candidates in the 2015 General Election campaigning for a Royal Commission to review the UK's drug laws relating to cannabis and push the economic argument for legalisation, which the party argues could generate £900 million in taxation.[3] None of the candidates won a seat.
Electoral performance
The party contested 32 constituencies, with its largest share of the vote coming in East Londonderry with 527 (1.5%).
| Constituency | Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bethnal Green & Bow | Jonathan Dewey | 303 | 0.5 |
| Camberwell & Peckham | Alexander Robertson | 197 | 0.4 |
| Cities of London & Westminster | Edouard-Henri Desforges | 160 | 0.4 |
| Dundee, E | Lesley Parker-Hamilton | 225 | 0.5 |
| East Londonderry | Neil Paine | 527 | 1.5 |
| Eddisbury | George Antar | 301 | 0.6 |
| Esher & Walton | Matt Heenan | 396 | 0.7 |
| Glasgow, Central | James Marris | 171 | 0.4 |
| Glasgow, N | Russell Benson | 154 | 0.4 |
| Glasgow, NE | Geoff Johnson | 225 | 0.6 |
| Glasgow, NW | Chris MacKenzie | 213 | 0.5 |
| Great Yarmouth | Sam Townley | 167 | 0.4 |
| Guildford | Gerri Smyth | 196 | 0.4 |
| Hackney, S & Shoreditch | Paul Birch | 297 | 0.6 |
| Holborn & St Pancras | Shane O'Donnell | 252 | 0.5 |
| Inverclyde | Craig Hamilton | 233 | 0.5 |
| Islington, S & Finsbury | Jay Kirton | 309 | 0.7 |
| Kensington | Tony Auguste | 211 | 0.6 |
| Leeds, W | Matthew West | 217 | 0.6 |
| North Down | Glenn Donnelly | 338 | 0.9 |
| Paisley & Renfrewshire, N | Andy Doyle | 202 | 0.4 |
| Rutherglen & Hamilton, W | Yvonne Maclean | 336 | 0.6 |
| Sheffield, SE | Jen Battersby | 207 | 0.5 |
| Stoke-on-Trent, Central | Ali Majid | 244 | 0.8 |
| Streatham | Artificial Beast | 192 | 0.4 |
| Thurrock | Jamie Barnes | 244 | 0.5 |
| Upper Bann | Martin Kelly | 460 | 1.0 |
| Vale of Glamorgan | Steve Reed | 238 | 0.5 |
| Vauxhall | Louis Jensen | 164 | 0.3 |
| Wakefield | Elliot Barr | 283 | 0.7 |
| West Tyrone | Barry Brown | 528 | 1.4 |
| Woking | Declan Wade | 229 | 0.4 |
Source: BBC News Election 2015[4]
See also
- Cannabis Law Reform
- Cannabis political parties
- Drug policy reform
- List of political parties in the United Kingdom
References
- ^ "Interview: Paul Birch, founder of UK party for a review into cannabis law". The Mancunian. 14 March 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Lamiat Sabin Cannabis party called Cista launched in UK to campaign for drug law reform ahead of elections The Independent 14 Feb 2015
- ^ "New UK political party wants to make cannabis an election issue". The Guardian. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ BBC News Election 2015. Results for Bethnal Green & Bow, Camberwell & Peckham, Cities of London & Westminster, Dundee East, East Londonderry, Eddisbury, Esher & Walton, Glasgow Central, Glasgow North, Glasgow North East, Glasgow North West, Great Yarmouth, Guildford, Hackney South & Shoreditch, Holborn & St Pancras, Inverclyde, Islington South & Finsbury, Kensington, Leeds West, North Down, Paisley & Renfrewshire, N, Rutherglen & Hamilton West, Sheffield South East, Stoke-on-Trent Central, Streatham, Thurrock, Upper Bann, Vale of Glamorgan , Vauxhall, Wakefield, West Tyrone, Woking
External links
- Paul Birch The economic case for legalising cannabis The Telegraph 04 Mar 2015
- Election 2015: Cannabis is Safer than Alcohol Party BBC 31 Mar 2015