FIGHTING FOR WHAT IS RIGHT

Last week when the Observer received word a marijuana grow operation
was uncovered near Wells, we were not surprised.

Grow-ops are everywhere. Quesnel RCMP's drug squad has been busting
more and more of them lately.

RCMP called it a "sophisticated grow operation" and it appeared
"significant expansion was planned" at the time the search warrant was
executed on Bert and Jayne Ball's property.

But this one was different. When news hit the media, it upset the
Balls.

They were angry. They voluntarily contacted the Observer late last
week to set up an interview to tell their side of the story.

Upon meeting them Saturday, Bert and Jayne Ball are not your typical
marijuana grow operators. They are not gangsters or those one would
think of who are growing pot for criminal purposes.

At 65, Bert is retired and on old-age pension. He ran the Ballarat
Gold Mine for 10 years, from 1986 to 1996. He returned in 2000.

His wife Jayne, 48, is on a disability pension, unable to work because
of debilitating back and neck pain. While prescribed medication from
her doctor somewhat eases the pain, she's discovered smoking pot for
its medicinal value is the answer. She is a mother and a
grandmother.

Friendly and outgoing, Bert likes to help out his friends. Under
Health Canada regulations, he took on the challenge of growing pot for
medicinal purposes to help out his friends on the Lower Mainland so
they could live without so much pain.

And he enjoyed doing it. He enjoyed caring for the plants and watching
them thrive in the upstairs of his house.

It was all for a common goal so his friends could enjoy a better
quality of life.

Both Bert and Jayne have a cause they strongly believe in. They want
the regular use of marijuana legalized.

While they face criminal charges, they're willing to go public, to
stand up and fight for their beliefs. They're not hiding anything.

More people could learn from them, whether they agree that what they
did is right or wrong.