Political party in the United Kingdom
| Cannabis Is Safer Than Alcohol | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | CISTA |
| Chairperson | Paul Birch |
| Founded | February 2015 |
| Dissolved | November 2016 |
| Ideology | Cannabis legalisation |
| Website | |
| cista | |
| Citizens Independent Social Thought Alliance | |
|---|---|
| Chairperson | Barry Brown |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Ideology | Cannabis legalisation |
Cannabis Is Safer Than Alcohol (CISTA) was a political party in the United Kingdom, which advocated the legalisation of cannabis.
The party was launched in February 2015. The party fielded candidates in the 2015 general election, campaigning for a Royal Commission to review the UK's drug laws relating to cannabis and to push the economic argument for legalisation, which it argued could generate £900 million in taxation. None of the candidates won a seat.
The party was deregistered by the Electoral Commission on 3 November 2016. Former members of the party from Northern Ireland registered a new party with the same initials, Citizens Independent Social Thought Alliance, in February 2017 to contest the 2017 Assembly election.
Electoral performance
General election, 7 May 2015
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
London mayoral election, 5 May 2016
Lee Harris stood for CISTA in the 2016 London Mayoral election. He finished ninth out of twelve candidates, obtaining 20,537 first-round votes (0.8%).
Northern Ireland Assembly election, 5 May 2016
The party contested four of the 18 constituencies, with its largest share of the vote in any election that the party had contested coming in Newry and Armagh with 2.2% (1,032 first-preference votes).
| Constituency | Candidate | First-preference votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foyle | John Lindsay | 259 | 0.7 |
| Newry and Armagh | Emmet Crossan | 1,032 | 2.2 |
| Upper Bann | Martin Kelly | 672 | 1.5 |
| West Tyrone | Barry Brown | 547 | 1.4 |
Citizens Independent Social Thought Alliance
Following the de-registering of Cannabis is Safer than Alcohol in November 2016, a new party bearing the same initials, Citizens Independent Social Thought Alliance, was registered with the Electoral Commission in February 2017, one week before the close of nominations for the snap elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly. The leader of this new party is Barry Brown, who was a CISTA candidate in 2016 and 2017.
Electoral performance
Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2 March 2017
The party contested three of the 18 constituencies, with its largest share of the vote coming in Newry and Armagh with 704 first-preference votes (1.3%).
| Constituency | Candidate | First-preference votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foyle | John Lindsay | 196 | 0.4 |
| Newry and Armagh | Emmet Crossan | 704 | 1.3 |
| West Tyrone | Barry Brown | 373 | 0.8 |
2017 United Kingdom general election
| Constituency | Candidate | Votes | % | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Tyrone | Barry Brown | 393 | 0.9 | 7 |
See also
- Cannabis classification in the United Kingdom
- Cannabis in the United Kingdom
- Cannabis Law Reform
- Cannabis political parties
- Drug policy reform
- List of British politicians who have acknowledged cannabis use
- 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. Archived from the original on 16 March 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
- ^ "Registration - Citizens Independent Social Thought Alliance". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
- Lamiat Sabin, "Cannabis party called Cista launched in UK to campaign for drug law reform ahead of elections", The Independent, 14 February 2015
- "New UK political party wants to make cannabis an election issue". The Guardian. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
- ^ Cannabis is Safer than Alcohol . The Electoral Commission. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
- 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
- "Politics Live: Election results coverage". BBC News. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
- "NI Election 2016: Results". BBC News. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
- Electoral Office for Northern Ireland, STATEMENT OF PERSONS NOMINATED Foyle
- Electoral Office for Northern Ireland, STATEMENT OF PERSONS NOMINATED Newry and Armagh
- Electoral Office for Northern Ireland, STATEMENT OF PERSONS NOMINATED West Tyrone
- "Election 2017: West Tyrone", BBC News. Retrieved 12 June 2017
External links
- Official website
- Paul Birch, "The economic case for legalising cannabis", The Telegraph, 4 March 2015
- Election 2015: Cannabis is Safer than Alcohol Party, BBC News, 31 March 2015
- Lee Harris, the moral crusader turned cannabis activist vying to be London mayor, The Guardian, 12 March 2016
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