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‎History

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‎History

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‎History

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Created page with "Cannabis Law Reform (CLEAR, formerly the Legalise Cannabis Alliance) is a de-registered UK political party which campaigns to end the prohibition of cannabis, most urgently fo..."

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Cannabis Law Reform (CLEAR, formerly the Legalise Cannabis Alliance) is a de-registered UK political party which campaigns to end the prohibition of cannabis, most urgently for those who need it as medicine.

== History ==

'''Legalise Cannabis Alliance'''

2005 election campaign logo
The Legalise Cannabis Alliance (LCA) campaigned for the legalisation of cannabis for all purposes, including medicinal use, as biomass, hemp-based products, and recreational drug use. They fielded candidates in elections to the House of Commons and to local government

The party had origins in a pressure group formed in Norwich. It was registered as a political party in March 1999 after Howard Marks had stood as a legalise cannabis candidate in four different constituencies in the 1997 general election: Norwich North, Norwich South, Southampton Test and Neath

The party used a Cannabis leaf image as its emblem and Cannabis : legalise and utilise served as its election manifesto.

The first official LCA candidate in a parliamentary election was former mayor of Carlisle Colin Paisley in the November 1999 by election in the Kensington and Chelsea constituency. He took 141 (0.7%) of the votes. The second was Derrick Large in the May 2000 Romsey byelection, who took 417 (1.1%) of the votes.

Alun Buffry was the party's nominating officer. In local elections in 2000, the party stood five candidates in Norwich and one in Peterborough, and the party stood frequently in local elections.

In the 2001 general election the party had candidates in 13 constituencies, and their best result was in Workington, where John Peacock took 1040 (2.5%) of the votes.

In January 2004, cannabis prohibition in the UK was relaxed. Cannabis had been a class B substance under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, but became a Class C substance, and some saw this change as approaching decriminalisation.[who?]

In the 2005 general election the LCA stood 18 candidates in 21 constituencies. This was eight more than in the 2001 general election, but included only six that had been contested in that previous election. In all these six 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. Their best results were in Orkney and Shetland, Worthing East and Shoreham and Leigh.

In Orkney and Shetland, Paul Cruickshank took 1.8% of the votes. Thomas Hampson in Leigh and Chris Baldwin in Worthing East and Shoreham both took 1.5% of the votes.

In the 2005 general election the LCA stood in seven Welsh constituencies, fielding enough candidates to qualify for a party political broadcast which aired on Welsh television and was also viewable in other areas of the country due to cable television and Freeview.

As well as calling for the legalisation of cannabis, the manifesto in Wales included campaigning against GM food, for lower fuel tax for haulage and transport firms, and support for recycling and renewable energy.

The party met with then Home Secretary and Norwich South MP Charles Clarke in March 2006 to put their case for the legalisation of cannabis.

The LCA voted to de-register as political party at a conference in Norwich on 11 November 2006, and continue as a pressure group. In 2011, however, a majority of the members voted to re-register as a party, and later 31 members voted and a majority of 19 elected Peter Reynolds as the leader, with Stuart Warwick as deputy leader and Janice Wells as treasurer. Members also voted to rename the group as the Cannabis Law Reform party, and it is now known also as CLEAR.

'''LCA election results'''

The highest percentage of the vote achieved by an LCA candidate was 2.5% by John Peacock in the 2001 general election, who obtained 1440 votes in the Workington constituency. The lowest achieved was 0.4% and 137 votes by Peter Reynolds in the 2012 by-election for Corby, standing under the CLEAR - Cannabis Law Reform party name.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Election
! Constituency or constituencies
! Candidate or candidates
!align=right| Votes
!align=right| Share (%)
!align=right| Change
|-
| [[Kensington and Chelsea by-election, 1999|1999 Kensington and Chelsea byelection]]
| [[Kensington and Chelsea (UK Parliament constituency)|Kensington and Chelsea]]
| Colin Paisley
|align=right| 141
|align=right| 0.7
| N/A
|-
| [[Romsey by-election, 2000|2000 Romsey byelection]]
| [[Romsey (UK Parliament constituency)|Romsey]]
| Derrick Large
|align=right| 417
|align=right| 1.1
| N/A
|-
|rowspan=13| [[United Kingdom general election, 2001|2001 general election]]
| [[Braintree (UK Parliament constituency)|Braintree]]
| Michael Nolan
|align=right| 774
|align=right| 1.5
| N/A
|-
| [[Calder Valley (UK Parliament constituency)|Calder Valley]]
| Philip Lockwood
|align=right| 672
|align=right| 1.4
| N/A
|-
| [[Carlisle (UK Parliament constituency)|Carlisle]]
| Colin Paisley
|align=right| 554
|align=right| 1.6
| N/A
|-
| [[Chelmsford West (UK Parliament constituency)|Chelmsford West]]
| Herb Philbin
|align=right| 693
|align=right| 0.9
| N/A
|-
| [[East Worthing and Shoreham (UK Parliament constituency)|East Worthing and Shoreham]]
| Chris Baldwin
|align=right| 920
|align=right| 2.1
| N/A
|-
| [[Edinburgh South (UK Parliament constituency)|Edinburgh South]]
| Margaret Hendry
|align=right| 535
|align=right| 1.4
| N/A
|-
| [[Hull North (UK Parliament constituency)|Hull North]]
| Carl Wagner
|align=right| 478
|align=right| 1.7
| N/A
|-
| [[Milton Keynes South West (UK Parliament constituency)|Milton Keynes South West]]
| Patman Denning
|align=right| 500
|align=right| 1.1
| N/A
|-
| [[North East Fife (UK Parliament constituency)|North East Fife]]
| Leslie Von Goetz
|align=right| 420
|align=right| 1.2
| N/A
|-
| [[Norwich South (UK Parliament constituency)|Norwich South]]
| Alun Buffry
|align=right| 620
|align=right| 1.5
| N/A
|-
| [[Penrith and The Border (UK Parliament constituency)|Penrith and the Border]]
| Mark Gibson
|align=right| 870
|align=right| 2.0
| N/A
|-
| [[Romsey (UK Parliament constituency)|Romsey]]
| Derrick Large
|align=right| 601
|align=right| 1.2
|align=right| +0.1
|-
| [[Workington (UK Parliament constituency)|Workington]]
| John Peacock
|align=right| 1040
|align=right| 2.5
| N/A
|-
|rowspan=21| [[United Kingdom general election, 2005|2005 general election]]
| [[Canterbury (UK Parliament constituency)|Canterbury]]
| Rocky van de Benderskum
| align=right| 326
| align=right| 0.7
| N/A
|-
| [[Carlisle (UK Parliament constituency)|Carlisle]]
| Lezley Gibson
|align=right| 343
|align=right| 1.0
|align=right| -0.6
|-
| [[Carmarthen East and Dinefwr (UK Parliament constituency)|Carmarthen East and Dinefwr]]
| Sid James Whitworth
|align=right| 343
|align=right| 0.7
| N/A
|-
| [[Carmarthen West and Pembrokeshire South (UK Parliament constituency)|Carmarthen West and Pembrokeshire South]]
| Alex Daszak
|align=right| 343
|align=right| 0.6
| N/A
|-
| [[Conwy (UK Parliament constituency)|Conwy]]
| Tim Evans<ref>{{cite news|url=http://icnorthwales.icnetwork.co.uk/news/regionalnews/tm_objectid=15375728&method=full&siteid=50142&headline=from-puppets-to-politics-in-bid-to-legalise-cannabis-name_page.html|title=From puppets to politics in bid to legalise cannabis|date=7 April 2005|work=North Wales Daily Post|accessdate=11 February 2010}}</ref>
|align=right| 193
|align=right| 0.6
| N/A
|-
| [[East Surrey (UK Parliament constituency)|East Surrey]]
| Winston Matthews
|align=right| 410
|align=right| 0.8
| N/A
|-
| [[East Worthing and Shoreham (UK Parliament constituency)|East Worthing and Shoreham]]
| Chris Baldwin
|align=right| 677
|align=right| 1.5
|align=right| -0.6
|-
| [[Great Yarmouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Great Yarmouth]]
| Michael Skipper
|align=right| 389
|align=right| 0.9
| N/A
|-
| [[Hull East (UK Parliament constituency)|Hull East]]
| Carl Wagner
|align=right| 182
|align=right| 0.6
| N/A
|-
| [[Hull North (UK Parliament constituency)|Hull North]]
| Carl Wagner
|align=right| 179
|align=right| 0.6
|align=right| -1.1
|-
| [[Leigh (UK Parliament constituency)|Leigh]]
| Thomas Hampson
|align=right| 415
|align=right| 1.5
| N/A
|-
| [[Neath (UK Parliament constituency)|Neath]]
| Pat Tabram<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2005/apr/11/uk.election20051|title=Cannabis pensioner takes on Hain in Neath stronghold|last=Morris|first=Steven|date=11 April 2005|work=The Guardian|accessdate=11 February 2010}}</ref>
|align=right| 334
|align=right| 0.9
| N/A
|-
| [[Norwich South (UK Parliament constituency)|Norwich South]]
| Don Barnard
|align=right| 219
|align=right| 0.5
|align=right| -1.0
|-
| [[Orkney and Shetland (UK Parliament constituency)|Orkney and Shetland]]
| Paul Cruickshank
|align=right| 311
|align=right| 1.8
| N/A
|-
| [[Penrith and The Border (UK Parliament constituency)|Penrith and the Border]]
| Mark Gibson
|align=right| 549
|align=right| 1.2
|align=right| -0.8
|-
| [[South Dorset (UK Parliament constituency)|South Dorset]]
| Vic Hamilton
|align=right| 282<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/england/4520125.stm|title=Knight 'inspires' swing to Labour|date=6 May 2005|work=BBC News|accessdate=11 February 2010}}</ref>
|align=right| 0.6
| N/A
|-
| [[Swansea West (UK Parliament constituency)|Swansea West]]
| Steve Pank
|align=right| 218
|align=right| 0.7
| N/A
|-
| [[Vale of Clwyd (UK Parliament constituency)|Vale of Clwyd]]
| Jeff Ditchfield
|align=right| 286
|align=right| 0.9
| N/A
|-
| [[Workington (UK Parliament constituency)|Workington]]
| John Peacock
|align=right| 381
|align=right| 1.0
|align=right| -1.5
|-
| [[Worthing West (UK Parliament constituency)|Worthing West]]
| Chris Baldwin
|align=right| 550
|align=right| 1.2
| N/A
|-
| [[Ynys Môn (UK Parliament constituency)|Ynys Mon]]
| Tim Evans
|align=right| 232
|align=right|0.7
| N/A
|-
|rowspan=1| [[Corby by-election, 2012|2012 Corby by-election]]
| [[Corby (UK Parliament constituency)|Corby]]
| Peter Reynolds
|align=right|137
|align=right|0.4
| N/A
|}

'''Top Gear appearance'''

In 2003, a representative from the party appeared on an episode of Top Gear. The representative raced representatives from five other political parties in an MG ZR. The representative came in second place.

'''CLEAR'''

The members of the Legalise Cannabis Alliance voted to re-register to contest elections in February 2011 and to elect a leader. Peter Reynolds was elected leader. Proposals for a new identity and constitution were put to a referendum of the membership and passed by a two-thirds majority. The party re-registered with the Electoral Commission under its new name of CLEAR Cannabis Law Reform.

The party commissioned a report by the Independent Drug Monitoring Unit, published on 14 September 2011, stating that a taxed and regulated cannabis market would save the exchequer £6.7 billion.

Peter Reynolds stood as CLEAR candidate in the Corby by-election, 2012, taking 137 votes (0.38%).

The party was statutorily de-registered by the Electoral Commission in November 2013.

As of 2014, the party states on their website:"We are not presently registered with the Electoral Commission as we are not currently intending to contest any elections."

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:44, 23 February 2015
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	Cannabis Law Reform (CLEAR, formerly the Legalise Cannabis Alliance) is a de-registered UK political party which campaigns to end the prohibition of cannabis, most urgently for those who need it as medicine.		Cannabis Law Reform (CLEAR, formerly the Legalise Cannabis Alliance) is a de-registered UK political party which campaigns to end the prohibition of cannabis, most urgently for those who need it as medicine.

		+	[[File:Cannabis law reform - Weed Depot.jpg\|200px\|thumb\|left\|political movement for marijuana legalization]]

	== History ==		== History ==

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:43, 17 February 2015
Line 10:		Line 10:


−	The party had origins in a pressure group formed in Norwich. It was registered as a political party in March 1999 after Howard Marks had stood as a legalise cannabis candidate in four different constituencies in the 1997 general election: Norwich North, Norwich South, Southampton Test and Neath	+	The party had origins in a pressure group formed in Norwich. It was registered as a political party in March 1999 after [[Howard Marks]] had stood as a legalise cannabis candidate in four different constituencies in the 1997 general election: Norwich North, Norwich South, Southampton Test and Neath

@@ Line 73: / Line 73: @@
 | N/A
 |-
-|rowspan=13| [[United Kingdom general election, 2001|2001 general election
+|rowspan=13| United Kingdom general election, 2001|2001 general election
 | Braintree (UK Parliament constituency)|Braintree
 | Michael Nolan

Cannabis Law Reform - Revision history

Adm1n at 18:44, 23 February 2015

Adm1n: /* History */

Adm1n: /* History */

Adm1n: /* History */

Adm1n: Created page with "Cannabis Law Reform (CLEAR, formerly the Legalise Cannabis Alliance) is a de-registered UK political party which campaigns to end the prohibition of cannabis, most urgently fo..."