The United States Marijuana Party was founded quite recently in 2002 by Alabama resident Loretta Nall following an arrest for the possession of marijuana. After her leaving the party shortly afterwards, the headquarters moved to Peoria, Illinois. As one might correctly presume, their man focus is to specifically end the war on drugs, and to legalise marijuana throughout the whole of the United States. So far they have managed to gain a small but growing following, and have local chapters in 29 states. As well as supporting the legalisation of marijuana, they also hold a number of strong libertarian positions. Their 2010 election candidates are Richard Rawlings of Illinois, and Tiny Martine of Colorado. A highlight of their mission statement reads as follows; “We demand the release of all people imprisoned on marijuana charges and that their criminal records be expunged.” You can follow their tweets @USMJParty. Their tagline is “A vote you can smoke.”

The League of the South’s ultimate goal is to create a “free and independent Southern republic” made entirely out of the former members of the Confederate States of America. Once it has achieved this, a gradual process would then ensue whereby the organisation would slowly repeal recent changes in the law and revert back to a status quo similar to that of pre-civil war America. Due to serious concerns about their position on racial issues, the Southern Poverty Law Center has labelled the them a hate group. Naturally, the League of the South is a strong supporter of the Confederate flag, and proclaims that anyone opposed to it is committing “cultural genocide.” They also believe that “Political independence will come only when we have convinced the Southern people that they are indeed a nation in the historical, organic, and Biblical sense of the word, namely, that they are a distinct people with language, mores, and folkways that separate them from the rest of the world”

The libertarian Boston Tea Party currently has around 1,500 registered supporters and was founded in 2006 by Thomas Knapp as a reaction to the Libertarian Party eliminating most of the substance from its party manifesto at an Oregon convention in the same year. The Boston Tea Party’s current program includes calling “an end to the federal prohibition of marijuana and hemp” and supporting the repeal of the USA Patriot Act. They also support the full withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and Iraq, something which the incumbent president is finding it harder than previously thought to accomplish. In the 2008 Presidential Election, the Boston Tea Party’s candidate Charles Jay received 2,422 votes, putting him in a very low down 15th place.

In case you are not up to scratch with your U.S. history, the state of Vermont was once the Vermont Republic for a number of years from 1777 to 1791, and even had its own constitution drafted, which was the first independent state to do so in North America. The current “Second Vermont Republic” Party is a secessionist group that aims to restore Vermont’s status back to an independent republic. Although there is nothing intrinsically radical about the party’s policies in terms of its racial standpoint, a red flag was raised in 2007 when an anonymous blogger revealed that the party had links with the League of the South. Both groups later denied they had any real relations with each other, except the existence of reciprocal links on one another’s website. Overall the party receives a small following with barely over 1,000 supporters and around 100 card carrying members.

The Alaskan Independence Party is the third largest political party in Alaska as of May 2009 in terms of numbers of registered supporters, with just over 13,000. The AIP’s origin dates back to when it was just a territory in the 1950s. The founding members wanted to give Alaskan’s the opportunity to vote on becoming the 49th state. The options given to Alaskans in 1958 were 1) Remain a Territory, 2) Become a separate and Independent Nation, 3) Accept Commonwealth status, and 4) Become a State. The policies of today have changed somewhat, it currently supports gun rights, privatisation, home schooling, and a limited government. It also advocates an in-state referendum that includes the option of Alaska becoming an independent country. The AIP proclaims itself as “the only Alaskan political party that is entirely composed of Alaskans, staffed by Alaskans and financed by Alaskans. We are not affiliated with any political party on a National level.”