B.C. Green party seeks support from marijuana activists

Several thousand pot enthusiasts gathered in downtown Vancouver on Monday to celebrate marijuana use and protest against the criminalization of cannabis in Canada.

The demonstratorsdescended onto the north lawn of the Vancouver Art Gallery, which began to smell of marijuana andcreateda visible cloud of smoke. The annual event was one of many such "420" rallies held across Canada on each April 20, including in Ottawa this year.

The Green Party of B.C. whose platform supports the decriminalization and regulation of marijuana campaigned at the event.

High-profile cannabis activist Marc Emery,president of the B.C. Marijuana Party, endorsed the Greens back in February and has said his party won't field candidates against the Greens in the May 12 provincial election.

Green party Leader Jane Sterk said Monday she's happy to take votes that might have traditionally belonged to Emery's party.

"We need the votes from all kinds of voters that might have been supportive of other parties," Sterk told CBC News in a telephone interview.

"In order to win seats, we will take votes from the NDP, the Liberals and from voters that haven't traditionally voted because they've been turned off by the political system."

Emery's wife, Jodie Emery, who's running for the Green party in Vancouver-Fraserview, campaigned outside the art gallery Monday, looking to drum up votes from the thousands in attendance.

Last year, some 6,000 people took part in the annual celebration of marijuana culture in Vancouver. Despite open pot use, no one was arrested.