[420 Girl]

BC: Local resident Sylvia Treptow presented the mayor with a petition signed by 152 residents opposed to discussing the medical marijuana issue at the city council table.

Treptow appeared at the Nov. 16 meeting of council to present the document which has been available at Work 'n'Play and Yaky Jacquie's for the past few months.

"The citizens want council to stop talking about the medical marijuana issue," she said. "In other words, remove this topic from your council table for the duration of your term in office."

Treptow also reported on research she has done on the medical marijuana task force that Coun. Joy Davies has started and which may bring recommendations forward to council in January. Davies has refused to identify the members of the task force.

Southern Interior MP Alex Atamanenko responded to Treptow's inquiries stating in a letter that he has not been contacted by anyone involved with the task force since he agreed to be a part of it.

Dr. Andrew Larder, senior medical health officer at Interior Health, said in a letter to Treptow that any employees participating in the committee would be doing so out of their own personal interest and not as representatives of Interior Health.

"The laws and regulations concerning the use and supply of medical marijuana fall within the Federal Government's jurisdiction," he wrote. "Interior Health has no position with regard to these laws and regulations. Interior Health also has no position on the establishment of a supplier of medical marijuana in Grand Forks."

Davies denied not including Atamanenko in her e-mails about the task force's work. As well, she said she "had a letter on file" regarding the Interior Health representatives.

Davies also criticized three city councillors, Cher Wyers, Michael Wirischagin and Gene Robert for signing the petition.

"Having spoken to our CAO, no councilor should ever sign a petition no matter what level of government, because we are government and we make the decisions," she said.

However, Wirischagin told the Gazette there was nothing wrong with councillors signing, or even starting, petitions. He also said Davies brought the matter up months ago internally and he was told by the city manager that there was nothing wrong with councillors signing petitions.

"That's what we do," he said. "We lobby."

Robert said he was one of the first to sign the petition and says the city manager has not spoken to him about it.

"I don't give up my taxpayer rights just because I'm a city councillor," he said. "Municipal government does not have the legal authority to deal with this issue. Perhaps Joy Davies should have run for federal politics."

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