COMPASSION CLUB COMING

A compassion club for providing marijuana for medical use is expected to
open in Kamloops next month.

Julian Gushulak says he is proceeding with the project, one of an
anticipated 10 clubs the British Columbia Marijuana party will open in the
province.

Gushulak, who attended a workshop on the program yesterday, says he's
working on membership applications, looking for a location and dealing with
other administrative requirements.

Michelle Rainey-Fenkark, party deputy financial agent, conducted the
workshop and says the goal is to get clubs on the Coast operating first.
Other clubs are targetted for Nanaimo, Kelowna, Prince George, Prince
Rupert, Fort St. John, Revelstoke, Chilliwack and Quesnel.

Rainey-Fenkark, who has Crohn's disease and smokes marijuana to deal with
its pain and other side-effects, says the party decided to open the clubs
before the federal government brought regulations into place to administer
medical marijuana.

"We're just going ahead with it. We aren't worrying about the regulations.
We had a workshop three weeks ago on how to open a club and we're promoting
it to get people on the bandwagon."

Rainey-Fenkark, who is also party president Marc Emery's executive
assistant, credits him for giving her "the courage to come out into the open."

Rainey-Fenkark says she has used marijuana for years surreptitiously to
deal with her disease, which is not in the illnessess approved by the
federal government for medical marijuana use. She campaigns to have Crohn's
and other debilitating illnesses included in the program, which now is
limited to AIDS/HIV, multiple sclerosis, severe forms of arthritis,
epilepsy cancer and spinal cord injury or disease.

The clubs are able to subsidize the drug through bulk buying. Emery has
encouraged clubs to buy from local growers where possible to keep prices down.

He adds the clubs will approve treatments with doctors and inspect growing
operations.