The Icelandic Pirate Party has a new best friend in Ásmundur Friðriksson, MP for the Independence Party.
According to Vísir, an unlikely alliance between the libertarian Pirates and this stalwart of the right has formed over a shared interest in cannabis—despite a long-standing enmity.
Ásmundur has proposed legal cultivation of the plant in Iceland for the production of medicinal cannabis, which has long been a policy of the Pirate Party. He wants to see further discussion within government and the health system in order to shape new policy towards cannabis use.
MP for the Pirate Party Björn Leví Gunnarsson is surprised, but happy to include Ásmundur in their ranks.
“The Pirates last submitted a proposal for the use and cultivation of medicinal hemp in 2018, but then Ásmundur did not want to be involved. This is therefore a welcome u-turn from him,” Björn said. “The news that Ásmundur is a Pirate at his core comes as a pleasant surprise to us.”
And if you don’t know your left from your right as far as Icelandic political parties go, allow The Grapevine to guide you.
Note: Due to the effect the Coronavirus is having on tourism in Iceland, it’s become increasingly difficult for the Grapevine to survive. If you enjoy our content and want to help the Grapevine’s journalists do things like eat and pay rent, please consider joining our High Five Club.
You can also check out our shop, loaded with books, apparel and other cool merch, that you can buy and have delivered right to your door.
Buy subscriptions, t-shirts and more from our shop right here!
