Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party

Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party (ALCP), also known as the Cannabis Party, is a political party in New Zealand. It is dedicated to the legalisation of cannabis for medical, recreational and industrial use. It was founded in 1996 and has stood in every general election since, but has never won representation in Parliament. Several of its members have gone on to political success after leaving the party.

Party history

Cannabis in New Zealand

Cannabis is the most widely used illegal drug in New Zealand. Its use today is regulated by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, which classes it as either a Class B drug ("Very high risk of harm") or a Class C drug ("moderate risk of harm"), depending on the product or substance. In December 2018, the Misuse of Drugs act was amended allowing for much broader use of medical marijuana, making the drug available to terminally ill patients in the last 12 months of life.

Also in December 2018, the Government announced a non-binding referendum on cannabis for personal use, to be held as part of the 2020 general election, though the final result was against legalisation.

Party foundation and actions The Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party was founded on 30 May 1996. Michael Appleby led the party from 1996 until standing down in 2013. Currently the ALCP is co-led by Maki Herbert and Michael Appleby, with Steven Wilkinson as its president.

The ALCP has contested all eight general elections held since its founding, as well as all twelve by-elections. The party has never won representation in Parliament.

In 2008, the party invited Dunedin South MP David Benson-Pope to join the ALCP, but he declined, saying, "Their judgement has obviously been impaired by their recreational habits".

Policies The ALCP's policies all relate to cannabis, hemp, or drug education. These include legalising possession, growing and use of cannabis for those over 18, creating a 'medpot' card, taxing companies involved in the cannabis industry, removing the need for a licence to grow hemp, and funding drug education and research.

Members' success outside of ALCP Two ALCP candidates went on to become Members of Parliament for the Green Party. Nándor Tánczos and Metiria Turei were both ALCP candidates in 1996; Tánczos became a Green MP in 1999 and Turei became a Green MP in 2002. Another ALCP candidate, Tim Shadbolt, has been elected mayor in two places; prior to running for ALCP in 1996 he was mayor of Waitemata from 1983 to 1989 and mayor of Invercargill from 1993 to 1995, and afterwards he became the mayor of Invercargill from 1998 until 2022.

Former president and deputy leader Abe Gray founded Whakamana Cannabis Museum, New Zealand's first and only cannabis museum, and has been a high-profile cannabis activist and protester for decades. Gray is now a member of The Opportunities Party (TOP). TOP's policy on legalising cannabis has been praised by the president of NORML New Zealand, Chris Fowlie.

Officeholders

List of leaders +No.NameTerm of officeNo. NameTerm of office1Michael Appleby14 October 20132Julian Crawford14 October 20133Alistair GregoryApril 20174Maki Herbertpresent4Jeff Lye(1)Michael Applebypresent

List of deputy leaders

+No.NameTerm of officeLeader1Mike Finlayson1996–?Appleby2Tim Shadbolt1997–19993Blair Anderson19994Allan Webb1999–20005Jeanette Saxby2000–20026Michael Britnell2002–20137Abe Gray2013–2014Crawford8Emma-Jane Kingi2014–9Alistair Gregory201610Maki Herbert2017LyePosition vacant ( – )11Jeff Lye2020–presentHerbert Appleby

Electoral results

General elections General Election of candidates nominated of seats won of party votes% of party vote Electorate List 1996 4 19 0 34,398 1.66% 1999 11 17 0 22,687 1.10% 2002 7 12 0 12,987 0.64% 2005 6 13 0 5,748 0.25% 2008 8 20 0 9,515 0.41% 2011 17 28 0 11,738 0.52% 2014 10 13 0 10,961 0.46% 2017 6 14 0 8,075 0.31%2020912013,329 0.46% 2023 14 16 0 13,025 0.45%

The ALCP has nominated candidates for electorate seats in each election since its foundation. No ALCP candidate has ever won a seat.

Their best general election result was in the 1996 election, where it won 1.66% of the party vote. It won 1.10% of the party vote in 1999, but since then the ALCP has not received more than 1% of the party vote in any election.

By-elections By-electionYearCandidate# votes% of votePlacing ResultTaranaki-King Country1998Michael Appleby 3931.94%8th holdTe Tai Hauauru2004Dun Mihaka 1972.52%2nd gainMount Albert2009Dakta Green920.44%6th holdMana2010Julian Crawford1120.48%6th holdBotany2011Leo Biggs610.40%6th holdTe Tai Tokerau2011Maki Herbert1351.10%4th gainIkaroa-Rāwhiti2013Michael Appleby1761.57%5th holdChristchurch East2013Paula Lambert590.43%6th holdNorthland2015Maki Herbert940.32%5th gainMount Roskill2016Brandon Stronge840.48%5th holdMount Albert2017Abe Gray970.71%7th holdNorthcote2018Jeff Lye890.42%6th holdTauranga2022Christopher Coker1170.56%7th holdHamilton West2022Peter Wakeman760.50%8th gain

The ALCP has also contested many by-elections. Its most successful result was in the 2004 Te Tai Hauauru by-election. Only the Māori Party, the ALCP, and independents contested this by-election. The ALCP candidate, Dun Mihaka, finished second behind Māori Party leader Tariana Turia, receiving 197 votes (2.52%) to Turia's 7,256 (92.74%).

Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party

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