Businessman and marijuana activist Randy Caine is running for a seat on Langley City council.
Caine, a Langley City resident, has run twice before, once for a council seat and once for mayor.
READ MORE: Randy Caine running for Langley City Council (2011)
He said he sees “inner-city issues” of homelessness and drug abuse as top concerns.
“For me, it’s an important time to step forward,” Caine told The Times.
“I’m 64 years old. That’s what elders do.”
He thinks Langley City can find positive solutions to the homeless problem.
“We do have a history of being an open and compassionate community,” Caine said.
He said he has no plans to open a campaign office.
“We’re a small community and my campaign office is the community.”
Caine said his health has been good since he was treated for a slow-growing form of cancer.
Regular scans have found his treatment, which included the use of marijuana to help manage the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation, appears to have been a success.
“All they can identify is scar tissue,” Caine said.
“I’m cancer-free.”
READ MORE: A taste of his own medicine for Langley marijuana advocate
Caine operates three HEMPYZ Gift and Novelties shops in both Langleys and White Rock.
He began picketing the TD bank in Langley a month ago to protest a manager’s refusal to approve a corporate line of credit for his chain of stores.
READ MORE: Langley businessman pickets bank
Caine once operated a medicinal marijuana dispensary that was opposed by Langley City council and closed down by police in July of 2011.
A charge against Caine, one count of possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking, was later dropped and he pleaded guilty to less serious violations of exceeding the amount of marijuana he was legally allowed to sell under his Health Canada licence and of storing it improperly.
Caine was then granted an absolute discharge on those counts, meaning there is no conviction on his record.
Despite that, in 2015, he was refused admission to Mexico for being a drug trafficker when he and his wife went there on vacation.
He has filed multiple requests with different Canadian government agencies under Freedom Of Information laws to find out exactly who was responsible for making what he described as “false and baseless” allegations to the Mexicans.
Caine has been able to travel to other countries than Mexico without difficulty.
dan.ferguson@langleytimes.com
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