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While many people might associate the federal Conservative “C” and blue branding with increased mandatory minimum sentences and a hardline stance against pot, Mark said that doesn’t need to be the case. He said many prominent members of the Conservative party privately support his cause but they don’t want to run afoul of their leader, Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

“I don’t even consider Harper a conservative. He’s just Harper. The man basically wanted to jail 40,000 people who were using medical marijuana and growing it themselves. That should tell you a lot about him right there,” Mark said.

Local marijuana activists Russell Barth and his wife Christine Lowe were surprised by the billboard but not by its message when they stopped by to have a look.

“Conservatives seem to have a cognitive dissonance when it comes to marijuana. They’re like ‘yeah, smaller government, less regulation, get out of my bedroom and get out of my life,’ unless it’s marijuana. Then you’ve gotta just crack down on that,” Barth said.

Barth said that while ideally he’d like to see pot legalized “and sold just like tomatoes,” it’s much more important to clarify the situation around medical marijuana and the ability of users to grow their own pot.

Barth and his wife both use medicinal marijuana, and said when the laws changed last year they lost their licensed distributor.

“We’re essentially breaking the law now,” he said. “We no longer have access to a legal and on-going supply. We’re existing on marijuana charity from around the country right now but that needs to change.”

The website for the group behind the billboards lists three sitting Conservative MPs who are all quoted on the site making statements in support of legalizing or at least decriminalizing pot, including Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington MP Scott Reid.