Despite most mainstream politicians' reluctance to seriously debate marijuana legalization, the illegal stimulant has clouded the B.C. provincial election campaign -- and polls suggest the public may not take the issue as seriously as their candidates.
The issue was brought to the forefront of the campaign last week after public documents were leaked to the media indicating that BC Conservative candidate Gurcharan Dhaliwal was convicted of drug possession.
Dhaliwal, who received a one-year conditional sentence for the 2004 conviction, did not speak to reporters about his record, and remains the Conservative candidate in his Abbotsford riding.
Related: Abbotsford candidate has drug conviction
Earlier in the campaign, Kash Heed, the Liberal candidate for Vancouver-Fraserview, was accused of being soft on drugs by his NDP opponent, Gabriel Yiu.
"We don't know what he stands for on the drug issue," Yiu said in April.
Heed, a former West Vancouver police chief, denied any pro-drug positions, saying his comments were taken out of context when they were published in the Chinese language media.
"It is false information he is putting out there," Heed said. "He is so misinformed. I've never been for the legalization of any illegal drugs."
Liberal, NDP Leaders keep their distance
Liberal Leader Gordon Campbell also came to Heed's defense. Campbell, who says he has never smoked marijuana himself, does not support legalization either.
"We need to listen to police on how to deal with this," Campbell said. "It's a challenge. I think there's an awful lot of connection with crime."
New Democrat Leader Carole James has not publicly advocated marijuana legalization either, and says the matter is in the jurisdiction of the federal government, not the provinces.
The public, however, may prefer a more progressive approach to the issue.
A recent Angust Reid Strategies poll commissioned by CTV and The Globe and Mail suggests that 65 per cent of British Columbians want to see the drug decriminalized.
On this issue, Green Party leader Jane Sterk appears to be the most in-tuned with voters.
Sterk has announced her support for legalizing the drug on multiple occasions, citing a "failure" of drug control policies in Canada. She once advocated the sale of marijuana in liquor stores.
Related: B.C. fringe candidates have fresh, unusual ideas
Third party politicians, including candidates from the Sex Party, the Libertarian Party, and, of course, the Marijuana Party, all favour marijuana legalization as well.
