MARIJUANA TASK FORCE FORMED

City Council voted to allow Coun. Joy Davies to proceed with a task
force on medical marijuana, but not as an official city committee.

The purpose of the task force is to find "solutions and options for
local access to medical marijuana," said Davies.

Davies refused to reveal the identities of the people on the task
force. However, at an earlier meeting she released a list of the
following invitees: two members of council; Member of Parliament Alex
Atamanenko; Member of the Legislative Assembly John Slater; a doctor;
a counsellor/psychologist; a medical user; fire chief; law
enforcement officer or lawyer; senior's representative; hospital
representative; Interior Health Authority (IHA) representative;
representative of the Doukhobor community; and a master grower. Of
this list, she said all were "on board" except Slater, who wishes to
be kept informed of the task force's research.

"I will not release the names of all the people who wish to
participate in this professional recommendation to city council," she
said. "I do not want any citizen going through what I have had to
endure over these last few months because we are trying to find a way
to get medicine to senior citizens in the city of Grand Forks."

She said she had "been on the end of both public and private slights,
shots, discrimination, screaming at and anger." Although not an
official committee of council, Davies said the task force would be
bringing forward "multi-purpose" recommendations to city, including
lobbying at the Association of Kootenay and Boundary Local
Governments and Union of British Columbia Municipalities. Davies said
she didn't think the committee would want to do its work without a
stronger endorsement by council. "I don't think MLAs and MPs just
want to get involved in a community task force on issues such as
this," she said. "They want political will."

Coun. Christine Thompson argued that accepting the resolution without
officially endorsing the task force would allow the group to form and
work on the issue without the unanimous support of council.

"I would encourage those who have agreed to work with Coun. Davies to
do so and to bring something back to council," she said.

Despite her objections, Davies voted to accept the resolution without
endorsing the task force and said the committee would likely bring a
report to council in four months.

Coun. Gene Robert, Cher Wyers and Michael Wirischagin voted against the motion.