The New Democratic candidate for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast has resigned after a newspaper questioned the party about his involvement with a Vancouver store that once sold seeds for coca plants, which contain the alkaloids used to produce cocaine.
Well,if you watch the CBC's The National (September 17th, 2008--go to about the 3 minute mark and let it run...) you'd see it's a little more serious than that.
Dana Larsen was once a host of Pot TV-- an internet-based television show featuring drugs.
Lots. And lots. And lots. Of drugs.
And Dana Larsen doing those drugs.
I know that there are more than a few stoners in the NDP-- that's no big shock-- but whoa-- this is more than just a little toking.
In one shot, you see Dana Larsen simultaneously lighting up several dozen joints and smoking them.
In another scene, he's announcing that he will be dropping acid. Then you see the camera focus on his foot and he says "wow, look at my foot. Trippy."
And the icing on the cake: after having dropped some DMT (a banned substance), Dana Larsen gets into his car, with a lit joint in his hand, and announces that he is driving home.
I love how he spins his resignation:
"I didn't want this to distract from the larger issues of the campaign. Since it seemed to be something people would be focusing on, I decided to submit my resignation," he said in an interview.
Yeah, like it had nothing to do with being filmed doing drugs and committing DWI-- a potentially lethal act.
How did they end up with this guy? Is the whole riding association on crack? The guy kind of looks stoned. Did no one think: gee, the people might not want to elect a druggie?
Or maybe they thought the people would be cool with that, who knows...
UPDATE: More interesting tidbits:
For 10 years, Larsen was editor of Cannabis Culture magazine, and has written a book titled Hairy Pothead and the Marijuana Store.
Oh yes...
(Pot prince Marc) Emery said the NDP has over-reacted, but Mr. Larsen has let the marijuana community down.
Over-reacted, huh?
LOL.
The guy is caught stoned on tv and doing DWI, and the NDP is "over-reacting"?
And the punchline:
"I don't blame the party for reprimanding him, and asking him to resign," he said. "We are particularly disappointed. We sent him out there to make us proud."
This is the guy the "marijuana community" sent out to make them "proud"?
