Sorry to hear this sad news.
I'm sure that last sentence put a smile on his face.
FYI -
Pubdate: April 28, 2001
Source: Saturday Okanagan, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2001 Saturday Okanagan
Page A2
Address: 550 Doyle Ave., Kelowna, B.C. V1Y 7V1
Website: http://www.ok.bc.ca
Contact: ross.freake@ok.bc.ca
Author: Don Plant
Family tragedy takes leader off campaign trail
* Marijuana Party Leader Brian Taylor's father passed away this week in Kelowna
KELOWNA - The leader of B.C.'s Marijuana Party visited Kelowna Friday, but not to illuminate the virtues of pot or condemn the war on drugs.
Brian Taylor's father died of heart failure in Kelowna on Monday.
The former mayor of Grand Forks had to put aside campaigning for a couple of days to attend the funeral at Immaculate Conception Church.
"It's a pretty tough kickoff to the campaign," Taylor said before the service. "He was a great guy. I'm working to get myself together to do the eulogy without crying."
Taylor, whose daughter Teresa is running in Okanagan-Westside, hopes his party can capitalize on disenchantment with the NDP to make a credible showing in several ridings.
The Marijuana Party has unveiled a host of platforms that will rankle law-and-order types and delght supporters of a new world order. They vow to relieve pain, help heroin addicts and improve the province's economy.
Taylor, 55, believes legalizing marijuana could generate $1 billion overnight in extra tax revenue. By charging income and corporate taxes to legal growers, the cash crop would pour money into provincial coffers.
"The Liberals could use this as an economic-recovery strategy - to recognize legal growing of marijuana in a similar way to the wine industry," he said. "Bells should be ringing for entrepreneurs. It's going to be a really big industry."
Taylor predicts Health Canada will announce new regulations for the medicinal use of marijuana this summer that would allow one in seven Canadians - 4.7 million - to smoke the weed legally. The new rules would help addicts kick their hard-drug habits because smoking marijuana helps them recover from withdrawal, he said.
Other party platforms:
* License brothels to reduce the number of child prostitutes on the streets. "Discreetly integrate that kind of service in the community," he said. "If brothels are licenced, there would be medical examinations and greater scrutiny. You don't see children being offered in Amsterdam."
* Allow parents to choose which school their children attend so they can avoid the RCMP's anti-drug DARE program, taught in dozen's of B.C. schools.
"It's bad science that tells kids marijuana is as bad as hard drugs. It puts it in the same category as cocaine, heroin and speed," said Taylor.
* Stop prosecuting people for marijuana possession when they've applied to Health Canada to use it for medicinal purposes.
* Reduce the cutting rights of forest companies so communities control what blocks are cut in their areas.
* Increase diversity in health care by including acupuncture, yoga, marijuana, and ethnic medicine.
"If it works for you and it's a cost-efficient alternative to traditional medicine, let's do it," he said. "I use (marijuana) as an aphrodisiac."
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Family tragedy takes leader off campaign trail
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