Cannabis Law Reform (CLEAR), formerly the Legalise Cannabis Alliance, is a United Kingdom lobby group which campaigns to end the prohibition of cannabis. The group was founded in 1997 and reformed as CLEAR in 2011. It campaigned in a number of elections until it was statutorily de-registered by the Electoral Commission in November 2013.
Cannabis Law Reform Cannabis Law Reform | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Peter Reynolds |
| Ideology | Legalisation of cannabis Drug policy reform |
| Colours | Green |
| Website | |
| http://clear-uk.org | |
History
editLegalise Cannabis Alliance
edit
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 local government.
The party had origins in a pressure group formed in Norwich. It was registered as a political party in March 1999,[1] after Howard Marks had stood as a Legalise Cannabis candidate in four different constituencies at the 1997 general election:[2] Norwich North, Norwich South, Southampton Test and Neath.
The party used a Cannabis leaf image as its emblem and Cannabis : legalise and utilise[3] 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.[4] The second was Derrick Large in the May 2000 Romsey byelection, who took 417 (1.1%) of the votes.[2]
In local elections in 2000, the party stood five candidates in Norwich and one in Peterborough,[2] and the party stood frequently in local elections.[5]
In the 2005 general election the LCA stood 18 candidates in 21 constituencies.[2][6] 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. The LCA also stood in seven Welsh constituencies. 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.[7]
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.[8]
LCA election results
edit| Election | Constituency or constituencies | Candidate or candidates | Votes | Share (%) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Kensington and Chelsea by-election | Kensington and Chelsea | Colin Paisley | 141 | 0.7 | N/A |
| 2000 Romsey by-election | Romsey | Derrick Large | 417 | 1.1 | N/A |
| 2001 general election | Braintree | Michael Nolan | 774 | 1.5 | N/A |
| Calder Valley | Philip Lockwood | 672 | 1.4 | N/A | |
| Carlisle | Colin Paisley | 554 | 1.6 | N/A | |
| Chelmsford West | Herb Philbin | 693 | 0.9 | N/A | |
| East Worthing and Shoreham | Chris Baldwin | 920 | 2.1 | N/A | |
| Edinburgh South | Margaret Hendry | 535 | 1.4 | N/A | |
| Kingston upon Hull North | Carl Wagner | 478 | 1.7 | N/A | |
| Milton Keynes South West | Patman Denning | 500 | 1.1 | N/A | |
| North East Fife | Leslie Von Goetz | 420 | 1.2 | N/A | |
| Norwich South | Alun Buffry | 620 | 1.5 | N/A | |
| Penrith and the Border | Mark Gibson | 870 | 2.0 | N/A | |
| Romsey | Derrick Large | 601 | 1.2 | +0.1 | |
| Workington | John Peacock | 1040 | 2.5 | N/A | |
| 2005 general election | Canterbury | Rocky van de Benderskum | 326 | 0.7 | N/A |
| Carlisle | Lezley Gibson | 343 | 1.0 | -0.6 | |
| Carmarthen East and Dinefwr | Sid James Whitworth | 343 | 0.7 | N/A | |
| Carmarthen West and Pembrokeshire South | Alex Daszak | 343 | 0.6 | N/A | |
| Conwy | Tim Evans[9] | 193 | 0.6 | N/A | |
| East Surrey | Winston Matthews | 410 | 0.8 | N/A | |
| East Worthing and Shoreham | Chris Baldwin | 677 | 1.5 | -0.6 | |
| Great Yarmouth | Michael Skipper | 389 | 0.9 | N/A | |
| Kingston upon Hull East | Carl Wagner | 182 | 0.6 | N/A | |
| Kingston upon Hull North | Carl Wagner | 179 | 0.6 | -1.1 | |
| Leigh | Thomas Hampson | 415 | 1.5 | N/A | |
| Neath | Pat Tabram[10] | 334 | 0.9 | N/A | |
| Norwich South | Don Barnard | 219 | 0.5 | -1.0 | |
| Orkney and Shetland | Paul Cruickshank | 311 | 1.8 | N/A | |
| Penrith and the Border | Mark Gibson | 549 | 1.2 | -0.8 | |
| South Dorset | Vic Hamilton | 282[11] | 0.6 | N/A | |
| Swansea West | Steve Pank | 218 | 0.7 | N/A | |
| Vale of Clwyd | Jeff Ditchfield | 286 | 0.9 | N/A | |
| Workington | John Peacock | 381 | 1.0 | -1.5 | |
| Worthing West | Chris Baldwin | 550 | 1.2 | N/A | |
| Ynys Mon | Tim Evans | 232 | 0.7 | N/A | |
| 2012 Corby by-election | Corby | Peter Reynolds | 137 | 0.4 | N/A |
CLEAR
editThe members of the Legalise Cannabis Alliance voted to re-register to contest elections in February 2011. Proposals for a new identity and constitution were put to a referendum of the membership and passed in separate two votes. The party re-registered with the Electoral Commission under its new name of CLEAR Cannabis Law Reform.[12]
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.[13]
Peter Reynolds stood as CLEAR candidate in the 2012 Corby by-election, taking 137 votes (0.38%).[14]
The party was statutorily de-registered by the UK Electoral Commission in November 2013.[15]
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.[16]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "BBC News - E-CYCLOPEDIA - Namesakes: A close call in politics". news.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ a b c d Pilcher, Tim (2005). Spliffs 3: the last word in cannabis culture?. Collins & Brown. ISBN 1-84340-310-2.
- ^ Cannabis : legalise and utilise: a manifesto and information document 2006 (PDF) (Second ed.). Legalise Cannabis Alliance. 2006. ISBN 0-9535693-1-4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-13. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
- ^ "Fears for safety of missing former Carlisle mayor Colin Paisley". News & Star. Carlisle. 12 September 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-09-15. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
- ^ Boggan, Steve (2 May 2006). "It's my party ..." The Guardian. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
- ^ Grant, Wyn; Justin Greaves (2005). "Pressure Politics: Business as Usual but an Expanding Private Sector" (PDF). The Palgrave Review of British Politics.
- ^ "No campaign let-up as poll nears". BBC News. 23 April 2005. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
- ^ "Clarke agrees to meet canabis group [sic]". Norwich Evening News. 4 March 2006. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
- ^ "From puppets to politics in bid to legalise cannabis". North Wales Daily Post. 7 April 2005. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
- ^ Morris, Steven (11 April 2005). "Cannabis pensioner takes on Hain in Neath stronghold". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
- ^ "Knight 'inspires' swing to Labour". BBC News. 6 May 2005. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
- ^ "{title}". Archived from the original on 2013-12-15. Retrieved 2013-12-15.
- ^ Ltd, IDMU. "Taxing the UK Cannabis Market". Archived from the original on 2011-10-03. Retrieved 2011-09-14.
- ^ "By-elections: Labour takes Corby from Conservatives". BBC News. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
- ^ "Register of Political Parties - Registration Cannabis Law Reform". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
- ^ "About Us | CLEAR". Archived from the original on 2013-12-18. Retrieved 2013-12-15.
External links
edit- Official website
- The History of the LCA
- Why The Legalise Cannabis Alliance is now CLEAR, Peter Reynolds, Know Drugs website Archived 2011-04-23 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 11 October 2011
