There have been plenty of parties that have captured the protest vote over the years - and 2015's left-wing niche believe that Britain should legalise weed. Jacob Barrow, representing Cannabis Is Safer Than Alcohol (Cista) in May's General Election, says that this could help the mainstream take notice.

Cista's party name might lack panache, but they're playing in the major league. Barrow aims to unseat MP Kate Green in Manchester's Stretford and Urmston constituency. How does Barrow fancy his chances against Labour - could he feasibly win? "Erm," he says and sighs. "Maybe? There are a lot of cannabis consumers in Manchester… "

While winning a few votes would be a plus, it would be fair to argue that Cista is more about the publicity than anything else - it aims to draw attention to what they call the sound argument for legalising cannabis.

"There’s so much money to be made from the drug," Barrow argues. "It's something in the region of £1.25billion they could make. It’s a lot of money, and we’re missing out on it at the moment."

Cannabis joints can be rolled freely in Amsterdam cafés. Could this be a scene repeated in the UK one day? (Getty Images)

"The Labour Party, they aren’t very vocal when it comes to this sort of thing," he adds. "Cista's existence as a political party is a way to make politicians take better notice. Sometimes they just seem to be writing letters back and they don’t seem to be making an effort to stick to their word and show their own beliefs."

Barrow, 27, admits that Cista is a fairly one-note party - would people vote for them and then, say, trust them to sort out their bins? "Yeah, exactly," says Barrow. "Technically it's a single-issue party. We just want to help people stay on the right side of the law."

While it might seem that legalised weed is a far-off dream for some, Barrow's optimistic. "I can see it being legalised before 2020. I’ve kept very up-to-date with the whole movement across the world and every prediction I’ve made so far has come right. Just think - in the USA next year there could be six or eight states that are fully legal."

Where cannabis is and isn't legal Show all 10 1 /10 Where cannabis is and isn't legal Where cannabis is and isn't legal UK Having been reclassified in 2009 from a Class C to a Class B drug, cannabis is now the most used illegal drug within the United Kingdom. The UK is also, however, the only country where Sativex – a prescribed drug that helps to combat muscle spasms in multiple sclerosis and contains some ingredients that are also found in cannabis - is licensed as a treatment Getty Where cannabis is and isn't legal North Korea Although many people believe the consumption of cannabis in North Korea to be legal, the official law regarding the drug has never been made entirely clear whilst under Kim Jong Un’s regime. However, it is said that the North Korean leader himself has openly said that he does not consider cannabis to be a drug and his regime doesn’t take any issue with the consumption or sale of the drug MARCEL VAN HOORN/AFP/Getty Images Where cannabis is and isn't legal Netherlands In the Netherlands smoking cannabis is legal, given that it is smoked within the designated ‘smoking areas’ and you don’t possess more than 5 grams for personal use. It is also legal to sell the substance, but only in specified coffee shops Getty Where cannabis is and isn't legal USA Although in some states of America cannabis has now been legalised, prior to the legalisation, police in the U.S. could make a marijuana-related arrest every 42 seconds, according to US News and World Report. The country also used to spend around $3.6 billion a year enforcing marijuana law, the American Civil Liberties Union notes AP Photo/Ted S. Warren Where cannabis is and isn't legal Spain Despite cannabis being officially illegal in Spain, the European hotspot has recently started to be branded, ‘the new Amsterdam’. This is because across Spain there are over 700 ‘Cannabis Clubs’ – these are considered legal venues to consume cannabis in because the consumption of the drug is in private, and not in public. These figures have risen dramatically in the last three years – in 2010 there were just 40 Cannabis Clubs in the whole of Spain. Recent figures also show that in Catalonia alone there are 165,000 registered members of cannabis clubs – this amounts to over 5 million euros (£4 million) in revenue each month Getty Where cannabis is and isn't legal Uruguay In December 2013, the House of Representatives and Senate passed a bill legalizing and regulating the production and sale of the drug. But the president has since postponed the legalization of cannabis until to 2015 and when it is made legal, it will be the authorities who will grow the cannabis that can be sold legally. Buyers must be 18 or older, residents of Uruguay, and must register with the authorities Getty Where cannabis is and isn't legal Pakistan Despite the fact that laws prohibiting the sale and misuse of cannabis exist and is considered a habit only entertained by lower-income groups, it is very rarely enforced. The occasional use of cannabis in community gatherings is broadly tolerated as a centuries old custom. The open use of cannabis by Sufis and Hindus as a means to induce euphoria has never been challenged by the state. Further, large tracts of cannabis grow unchecked in the wild Getty Where cannabis is and isn't legal Portugal In 2001, Portugal became the first country in the world to decriminalize the use of all drugs, and started treating drug users as sick people, instead of criminals. However, you can still be arrested or assigned mandatory rehab if you are caught several times in possession of drugs Getty Where cannabis is and isn't legal Puerto Rico Although the use of cannabis is currently illegal, it is said that Puerto Rico are in the process of decriminalising it RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP/Getty Images Where cannabis is and isn't legal China Cannabis is grown in the wild and has been used to treat conditions such as gout and malaria. But, officially the substance is illegal to consume, possess and sell Getty

Barrow was born with a diaphragmatic hernia and, after spending a year and a half at university, has been unable to work on doctors' orders. "I’ve had a lot of very aggressive extensive operations – they’ve had to pull my organs out and clean the adhesions off et cetera. I’m not very well, so I’m doing a lot of studying at the moment."

He explains that he uses cannabis purely for medical purposes, and has had adverse reactions to every other painkiller he's been put on. "I’m meant to be on tramadol, they tried to put me on methadone, I was on morphine for about two months, I’ve tried them all a lot of times and it’s just had such a bed effect on me because I’m such a small build – I’m only five foot seven but and weigh just over seven stone. My digestion system isn’t fantastic, so easting food isn’t amazing."

The cannabis farmers’ market in Los Angeles showcased high quality cannabis from growers and vendors throughout the state (Getty Images)

Barrow has been able to come off all of them and replace them with cannabinoid therapy. "I don’t just smoke it, I use oil, you see – highly concentrated oil which alleviates the pain that I get. My doctor’s been completely supportive but I have to obtain the oil illegally, and it costs about £100 a gram."

"I haven’t had a life," he explains. "I’ve been trying to get my health sorted for between six to eight years and I’ve relied on medical cannabis for five of those years. I’ve tried a lot of legal drugs and they made me feel very poorly."

Cista and Jacob Barrow's key policies

Cannabis for medicinal purposes: "It would give people like me their lives back."

Age limit for buying cannabis: "Cista's policy is that you have to be 21 to buy it, but I would say 25 as the brain is fully developed by then."

Priority for medical marijuana: "My personal aim is to make sure patients get seen to and then once that’s sorted we can look into the regulated market."

And that's pretty much it. Barrow says Cista won't need to exist after cannabis has been legalised. Whether people think it's worth their ballot is another matter.