Pubdate: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 Source: Metro (Vancouver, CN BC) Copyright: 2013 Metro Canada Contact: http://www.metronews.ca/vancouver Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3775 Author: Kate Webb SENSIBLE B.C. AIMS TO GET 5,000 POT-SMOKERS OFF THE COUCH ... Dana Larsen wants YOU - and 5,000 other citizens - to help him canvass signatures for his Sensible B.C. campaign to force a provincial referendum on the decriminalization of simple marijuana possession. The longtime pot activist will have 90 days beginning Sept. 9 to collect signatures from 10 per cent of registered voters in all of B.C.'s 85 ridings, which would trigger a referendum in September 2014. Larsen said he has already signed up more than 1,000 canvassers but wants thousands more so that his campaign starts out on the same footing as the successful Fight HST campaign. "My target is to have 6,000 canvassers, and I'm expecting to have about half of those in by Sept. 9. If we can have half of our canvassers registered by the time we start on Sept. 9 I think we'll be on track for a good campaign," Larsen said. The commitment can be as much or as little as volunteers want, and he stressed that it's not so much about door knocking as it is collecting signatures in high traffic areas such as parks and transit hubs. Larsen's budget is about $250,000 - most of it donated by a wealthy pro-pot lottery winner - which is about equal to what the Fight HST campaign spent to defeat the unpopular harmonized sales tax leading up to the 2011 referendum. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom