# Cannabis Is Safer Than Alcohol

Cannabis Is Safer Than Alcohol (CISTA) 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
### General election, 7 May 2015

The party contested 32 constituencies, with its largest share of the vote coming in East Londonderry with 527 (1.5%).
| Constituency | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Bethnal Green & Bow | Jonathan Dewey | 303 | 0.5 |
| Camberwell & Peckham | Alexander Robertson | 197 | 0.4 |
| Cities of London & Westminster | Edouard-Henri Desforges | 160 | 0.4 |
| Dundee, E | Lesley Parker-Hamilton | 225 | 0.5 |
| East Londonderry | Neil Paine | 527 | 1.5 |
| Eddisbury | George Antar | 301 | 0.6 |
| Esher & Walton | Matt Heenan | 396 | 0.7 |
| Glasgow, Central | James Marris | 171 | 0.4 |
| Glasgow, N | Russell Benson | 154 | 0.4 |
| Glasgow, NE | Geoff Johnson | 225 | 0.6 |
| Glasgow, NW | Chris MacKenzie | 213 | 0.5 |
| Great Yarmouth | Sam Townley | 167 | 0.4 |
| Guildford | Gerri Smyth | 196 | 0.4 |
| Hackney, S & Shoreditch | Paul Birch | 297 | 0.6 |
| Holborn & St Pancras | Shane O'Donnell | 252 | 0.5 |
| Inverclyde | Craig Hamilton | 233 | 0.5 |
| Islington, S & Finsbury | Jay Kirton | 309 | 0.7 |
| Kensington | Tony Auguste | 211 | 0.6 |
| Leeds, W | Matthew West | 217 | 0.6 |
| North Down | Glenn Donnelly | 338 | 0.9 |
| Paisley & Renfrewshire, N | Andy Doyle | 202 | 0.4 |
| Rutherglen & Hamilton, W | Yvonne Maclean | 336 | 0.6 |
| Sheffield, SE | Jen Battersby | 207 | 0.5 |
| Stoke-on-Trent, Central | Ali Majid | 244 | 0.8 |
| Streatham | Artificial Beast | 192 | 0.4 |
| Thurrock | Jamie Barnes | 244 | 0.5 |
| Upper Bann | Martin Kelly | 460 | 1.0 |
| Vale of Glamorgan | Steve Reed | 238 | 0.5 |
| Vauxhall | Louis Jensen | 164 | 0.3 |
| Wakefield | Elliot Barr | 283 | 0.7 |
| West Tyrone | Barry Brown | 528 | 1.4 |
| Woking | Declan Wade | 229 | 0.4 |
Source: BBC News Election 2015

### London mayoral election, 5 May 2016

Lee Harris stood for CISTA in the 2016 London Mayoral election. He finished ninth out of twelve candidates, obtaining 20,537 first-round votes (0.8%).

### 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% (1,032 first-preference votes).
| Constituency | Candidate | First-preference votes | % |
| Foyle | John Lindsay | 259 | 0.7 |
| Newry and Armagh | Emmet Crossan | 1,032 | 2.2 |
| Upper Bann | Martin Kelly | 672 | 1.5 |
| West Tyrone | Barry Brown | 547 | 1.4 |

## 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

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 (1.3%).
| Constituency | Candidate | First-preference votes | % |
| Foyle | John Lindsay | 196 | 0.4 |
| Newry and Armagh | Emmet Crossan | 704 | 1.3 |
| West Tyrone | Barry Brown | 373 | 0.8 |

#### 2017 United Kingdom general election

| Constituency | Candidate | Votes | % | Position |
| West Tyrone | Barry Brown | 393 | 0.9 | 7 |