A marijuana activist has staked his campaign for the House of Assembly on a "new world order'' and Government based on scriptural teaching.

Mr. Gershwyn Smith, 34, who calls himself the "high priest'' Mohatma Shiloh Mahdi, has not decided in which constituency he will run, he said at a news conference outside Magistrates' Court yesterday.

"I have a safe seat in every constituency,'' he told reporters. "I'm inviting the people of Bermuda to send me their letters (and) I shall choose my constituency.'' Alone and dressed in a suit he made himself, Mr. Smith carried the four-coloured flag of his Young Progressives group and a sign reading: "Vote For New World Order.'' He said friends might join him as Independent candidates in the general election expected within the year, and he was not concerned his campaign would not be taken seriously. "I've been serious every day of my life, and I've always spoken the truth, even in Magistrates' Court,'' he said.

His first choice was to hold his news conference on the grounds of the Sessions House, but he moved it to the sidewalk next door at the request of Government officials.

In February, Mr. Smith led a three-person march on the House calling for the legalisation of marijuana.

"Marijuana is not a drug and it shall not be classed as a drug,'' he said then. "Marijuana is a food to be eaten as a herb, like parsley.'' Yesterday, he said cocaine and heroin should not be legalised, but should be made available to addicts by Government. That would take the crime and profit out of the trade, he said.

The "three crimes'' of racism, ignorance, and poverty were his major concerns, he said.

If elected, he will "open the scriptures and address the problems accordingly.'' The long-governing United Bermuda Party will not win the next election, because it has been "disobedient'' to God and the people, he said.

DRESSED FOR SUCCESS -- Mr. Gershwyn Smith, 34, who calls himself the "high priest'' Mohatma Shiloh Mahdi, seen walking to his news conference yesterday outside Magistrates' Court. Mr. Smith wore a bell-bottom suit which he made himself.