Cannabis Is Safer Than Alcohol


Cannabis Is Safer Than Alcohol 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

[2015 [United Kingdom general election|General election, 7 May 2015]]

The party contested 32 constituencies, with its largest share of the vote coming in East Londonderry with 527.
ConstituencyCandidateVotes%
Bethnal Green & BowJonathan Dewey3030.5
Camberwell & PeckhamAlexander Robertson1970.4
Cities of London & WestminsterEdouard-Henri Desforges1600.4
Dundee, ELesley Parker-Hamilton2250.5
East LondonderryNeil Paine5271.5
EddisburyGeorge Antar3010.6
Esher & WaltonMatt Heenan3960.7
Glasgow, CentralJames Marris1710.4
Glasgow, NRussell Benson1540.4
Glasgow, NEGeoff Johnson2250.6
Glasgow, NWChris MacKenzie2130.5
Great YarmouthSam Townley1670.4
GuildfordGerri Smyth1960.4
Hackney, S & ShoreditchPaul Birch2970.6
Holborn & St PancrasShane O'Donnell2520.5
InverclydeCraig Hamilton2330.5
Islington, S & FinsburyJay Kirton3090.7
KensingtonTony Auguste2110.6
Leeds, WMatthew West2170.6
North DownGlenn Donnelly3380.9
Paisley & Renfrewshire, NAndy Doyle2020.4
Rutherglen & Hamilton, WYvonne Maclean3360.6
Sheffield, SEJen Battersby2070.5
Stoke-on-Trent, CentralAli Majid2440.8
StreathamArtificial Beast1920.4
ThurrockJamie Barnes2440.5
Upper BannMartin Kelly4601.0
Vale of GlamorganSteve Reed2380.5
VauxhallLouis Jensen1640.3
WakefieldElliot Barr2830.7
West TyroneBarry Brown5281.4
WokingDeclan Wade2290.4

Source: BBC News Election 2015

London mayoral election, 5 May 2016">2016 London mayoral election">London mayoral election, 5 May 2016

stood for CISTA in the 2016 London Mayoral election. He finished ninth out of twelve candidates, obtaining 20,537 first-round votes.

[2016 [Northern Ireland Assembly election|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%.
ConstituencyCandidateFirst-preference votes%
FoyleJohn Lindsay2590.7
Newry and ArmaghEmmet Crossan1,0322.2
Upper BannMartin Kelly6721.5
West TyroneBarry Brown5471.4

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">2017 Northern Ireland Assembly election">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.
ConstituencyCandidateFirst-preference votes%
FoyleJohn Lindsay1960.4
Newry and ArmaghEmmet Crossan7041.3
West TyroneBarry Brown3730.8

[2017 United Kingdom general election]