[Witness speaks in Latvian]
I am Talis Brauns. I am a Canadian Latvian born in Montreal. I have spent half my adult life working on foreign aid projects in eastern Europe on the development of non-governmental society and the acquis communautaire program in the European Commission.
Why am I here today? There was a sad incident in my private life that resulted in a deer tick infection, Lyme disease, and encephalitis that affected my family members. In doing research and in contact with the medical community, I began checking out the possibilities of the cannabis plant.
For the last 10 years, I have studied and actively participated in most of the major marijuana court cases. With the cannabis act, I see big loopholes and I see lots of opportunities for the Marijuana Party, which, by the way, is the most popular party in Canada.