Donald 'Mac' McIntosh
Donald 'Mac' McIntosh was ranked third on the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party list In 1996.
Mac McIntosh made his fortune in the paua industry and used the money to invest in Industrial Hemp.
Mac is the foremost pioneer of Industrial Hemp breeding in New Zealand. Before it was legal, he lobbied the government to allow the crop and he helped influence the regulations that were created following its legalisation.
Mac became the first New Zealander to gain a licence to breed hemp and he developed New Zealand first recognised cultivar of hemp, known as Aotearoa1.
"We are totally in control of this stock, giving us a great chance to develop the industry. Other hemp growers in New Zealand have to go through all the dramas of importing hemp seeds and aren't in control," he said.
Mac has gone on to develop a range of high seed producing strains of hemp from his home base in the “Tawanui Republic”.
He has regularly butted head with bureaucrats over the strict licensing conditions.
He starred in the documentary Mad Mac and the Fat Ugly Snail about the Paua days.
Nandor Tanczos
Nandor Tanczos was ranked fifth on the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party's list in 1996.
Tanczos is the son of a Hungarian-born father, who fled the communist regime in 1957, and a South African-born mother, with Khoi, Dutch, and German ancestry. He has a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree from the University of Waikato and a diploma in sustainable land management from Unitec
He was well known is cannabis law reform circles having been the editor of Norml News and a regular at Auckland University 420 protests. He also co-founded Hempstore Aotearoa, a business that produces hemp-related products such as cosmetics and clothing.
After standing for the Cannabis Party in 1996, he became the #5 candidate for the Green Party in 1999, entering into Parliament on their list. In his maiden speech he highlighted the disparity between rich and poor defendants in relation to cannabis court cases.
“The reality is that we have always had one law for Maori and one for Pakeha. That split has often coincided with the one law for the rich and one for the poor that was so amply demonstrated a few weeks ago,” he said, in reference to billionaire Peter Lewis.
Nandor Tanczos quickly became one of New Zealand most controversial MPs, after he admitted using cannabis as part of his
Rastafarian faith. When he entered Parliament in 1999 he was the first Rastafarian MP in the world.
In 2003 NZ First MP Craig McNair laid a complaint with police over the cannabis admission but no specific offence could be proven.
Nandor's two most significant legislative achievements, were the Clean Slate Act, conceals non-violent criminal offences if the offender does not re-offend after 7 years and the Misuse of Drugs (Hemp) amendment bill, which allowed hemp growing in New Zealand.
He was in Parliament for 9 years.
In 2016 the Cannabis Party celebrated 20 years of being a political party. It is the only party to have contest every election and by-election through this time.
A number of aspiring politicians have stood as candidates for the Cannabis Party over the years, some of them even went on to become famous in New Zealand.
THC News took a look at some of the more high profile candidates from the party's first election in 1996.
Nandor Tanczos was ranked fifth on the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party's list in 1996.
Tanczos is the son of a Hungarian-born father, who fled the communist regime in 1957, and a South African-born mother, with Khoi, Dutch, and German ancestry. He has a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree from the University of Waikato and a diploma in sustainable land management from Unitec
He was well known is cannabis law reform circles having been the editor of Norml News and a regular at Auckland University 420 protests. He also co-founded Hempstore Aotearoa, a business that produces hemp-related products such as cosmetics and clothing.
After standing for the Cannabis Party in 1996, he became the #5 candidate for the Green Party in 1999, entering into Parliament on their list. In his maiden speech he highlighted the disparity between rich and poor defendants in relation to cannabis court cases.
“The reality is that we have always had one law for Maori and one for Pakeha. That split has often coincided with the one law for the rich and one for the poor that was so amply demonstrated a few weeks ago,” he said, in reference to billionaire Peter Lewis.
Nandor Tanczos quickly became one of New Zealand most controversial MPs, after he admitted using cannabis as part of his Rastafarian faith. When he entered Parliament in 1999 he was the first Rastafarian MP in the world.
In 2003 NZ First MP Craig McNair laid a complaint with police over the cannabis admission but no specific offence could be proven.
Nandor's two most significant legislative achievements, were the Clean Slate Act, conceals non-violent criminal offences if the offender does not re-offend after 7 years and the Misuse of Drugs (Hemp) amendment bill, which allowed hemp growing in New Zealand.
He was in Parliament for 9 years.
Metiria Turei
Metiria Turei, who previously stood for the McGillicuddy Serious Party, was ranked fourth on the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party list in 1996.
Raised in a working class Māori family in Palmerston North, she became a solo-mother at age 22. She studied law at Auckland University and worked for Simpson Grierson after graduating.
Turei entered Parliament in 2002 as a Green List MP, becoming the second member of Parliament previously from the Cannabis Party. Turei also publicly admitted to using cannabis but was less controversial than Tanczos, because she claimed to have given up the herb.
In 2009, she became the female co-leader for the Greens. In the same year her Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill was drawn from the member's ballot. The Bill would have allowed doctors to prescribe cannabis for a range of medical conditions, but it had to be obtain from cannabis seized by police.
The Bill received a conscience vote at its first reading in Parliament and was defeated 84–34. However, the National Party whipped its vote, causing some of its MP to complain about not being able to support the bill.
Metiria continues to lead the Green party but has said in recent years that the Greens policy to decriminalise cannabis would not be a bottom-line issue in post-election negotiations.
Tim Shadbolt
Tim Shadbolt was ranked eighth on the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party's list in 1996.
Shadbolt was born in Remuera, Auckland in 1947. He became a radical activist in the 1960s and 1970s and was arrested 33 times at political protests.
Most famously, he was arrested for using the word 'bullshit' in public. This incidence was the inspiration for his book 'Bullshit and jellybeans'.
In 1983 he became mayor of Waitemata City. He celebrated by towing his concrete mixer behind the mayoral vehicle.
In 1993 he became the mayor of Invercargill for one term. He stood for the New Zealand First Party in the 1994 Selwyn By-election coming fourth. He then joined the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party, much to the disappointment of his partner Asha Dutt.
Shadbolt reportedly smoked his first joint with the daughter of poet James K. Baxter.
He lost the 1995 mayoral campaign while protesting nuclear weapons in France. In 1998 he was re-elected Mayor of Invercargill and has held the position ever since. He is the longest serving Mayor in the country.
In 2012, Shadbolt set the Guinness World Record for the longest television interview. He was interviewed for 26 consecutive hours on Southland TV by Tom Conroy.
Donald 'Mac' MacIntosh
Donald 'Mac' McIntosh was ranked third on the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party list In 1996.
Mac McIntosh made his fortune in the paua industry and used the money to invest in Industrial Hemp.
Mac is the foremost pioneer of Industrial Hemp breeding in New Zealand. Before it was legal, he lobbied the government to allow the crop and he helped influence the regulations that were created following its legalisation.
Mac became the first New Zealander to gain a licence to breed hemp and he developed New Zealand first recognised cultivar of hemp, known as Aotearoa1.
"We are totally in control of this stock, giving us a great chance to develop the industry. Other hemp growers in New Zealand have to go through all the dramas of importing hemp seeds and aren't in control," he said.
Mac has gone on to develop a range of high seed producing strains of hemp from his home base in the “Tawanui Republic”. He has regularly butted head with bureaucrats over the strict licensing conditions.
He stared in the documentary Mad Mac and the Fat Ugly Snail about he Paua days.
Chris Fowlie
Chris Fowlie was ranked ninth on the Aotearoa legalise Cannabis Party list in 1996.
Chris is the co-founder of the Hempstore Aotearoa along with Nandor Tanczos.
He helped established Norml New Zealand, an incorporated society which lobbies for cannabis law reform. He was an active member of the Auckland University 420 protest in the 1990s.
He was the editor for Norml News magazine for a number of years, up until the magazine closed in 2012. He has also done a number of media appearances promoting cannabis including on 60 Minutes, 20/20, the BBC.
Chris also as an expert witness in cannabis related court cases and has successfully defended himself on a cannabis charges in the past.
“I have closely studied the cannabis plant and its associated culture since 1992,” he said.
“I have given evidence in the District and High Courts on matters relating the identification of cannabis, evidence-based estimates of crop yield, potency, sophistication of the operation, cultivation techniques, supply vs personal use, and current market values.”
These days Chris continues to run the Hempstore and is the current president of Norml NZ.
From: Julian Crawford (via Google Docs)
Sent: Tuesday, 29 November 2016 12:14 AM
Cc: [email protected]; [email protected]
Subject: Famous Candidates - 20 year later - Invitation to edit
Julian Crawford has invited you to edit the following document:
The Hemp & Cannabis News ELECTIONS
December 2016 15
Famous Candidates -
20 Years Later