SEEING WHAT IT'S LIKE ON THE OTHER SIDE

After years of being the one asking the questions, I was interviewed
recently by Brock Ketcham, a Calgary herald reporter. The experience
showed me what it's like to be on the other side of the media fence.
Ketcham came to town because a compassion club (a place where
marijuana is provided for medicinal purposes) has recently opened in
Calgary. He'd heard about Brian Taylor's idea to grow medical
marijuana, and decided to do an article about it. Ketcham spoke to
several people in town, including me. He wanted to get a feel for
what the town was like and what the buzz around Taylor was. I admitted
to him that I'd been in Grand Forks only a short while, but the
majority of what I'd heard about Taylor and his pursuits was skeptical
and negative, often in the extreme. Forgetting that I could be quoted,
I translated this into "They think he's a joke." Realizing as soon as
I said it that it was an exaggeration, I went on to say that not
everyone felt that way. I also added my personal opinion that whether
you agree with Taylor or not, you have to give him credit for having
the guts to pursue radical ideas and for not being afraid to be
different. The only thing that made it into the Herald Story, however,
was the "joke" comment. To add insult to injury, the story was later
reprinted in the Vancouver Sun where it was seen by many Grand Forks
residents. If I'm ever interviewed again, I will be more judicious
with my choice of words. And, as a journalist, I will continue to
take special care not to take people's quotes out of context. But back
to the medical marijuana issue. In my brief interview with the Calgary
reporter, I never got the chance to discuss what I consider to be some
core issues. Had I the chance, I would have told him that this town
really needs employment. If people want their children to be able to
stay here when they grow up, we need some sort of industry - and
clearly forestry is not going to be enough. That's why, until somebody
comes up with a better idea, I think Grand Forks should not dismiss
outright the possibility of a medical marijuana industry. Consider the
following: 1) Marijuana has been shown to be effective in relieving
some ailments and making some chronic illnesses and treatments much
easier to endure. It has been approved for medical use in five
states, and sooner or later more are bound to follow. 2) Growing
medical marijuana in the Boundary wouldn't make it any more likely
that local youth (or anyone else, for that matter) would smoke the
stuff because there are already all kinds of growers hidden in these
hills. 3) Nor would medical marijuana attract so-called "undesirable"
types to town (see the point above - those who want to be near pot
plants are probably here already). 4) Many people say they find the
mayor and his stance on marijuana to be "embarrassing." They don't
want Grand Forks to be known as the pot capital of Canada. Well, if I
had to choose between worrying about what people think and keeping a
great community alive with an environmentally friendly industry, I'd
surely go for the latter. Whatever your perspective, all of the points
above are probably moot anyway because my guess is it'll be years and
probably decades before anyone in Canada is given the go-ahead to grow
marijuana, medical or not. But there is a legal demand for the
substance, and it will have to come from somewhere. Taylor, it seems,
wants to get in on the ground floor. He also has the blind optimism
that it takes to forge on against the odds. And who knows? Maybe
he'll get lucky and his plan will actually come to fruition. I know
this thought scares some people. Personally, I am more scared by the
alternative if we don't find some way to keep this community from
eventually spiralling into a ghost town. So, until I think of a better
idea or hear one from someone else. I'm at least going to listen to
what the medical marijuana folks have to say.