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Page 26 Cyclists take to the roads 604-463-2281
May 4, 2010
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Marijuana shop opens in Ridge
HOME SHOW HAIR TODAY – GONE TOMORROW
AMY STEELE asteele@mrtimes.com
T
Mitch Thompson/TIMES
Alan LaRose of Manion and Associates Financial Services, had his hair shaved for charity at the Ridge Meadows Home Show this weekend. The home show attracted about 17,000 visitors. See more pictures on Page 4.
im Sproule has herniated discs in his back and neck that cause him intense pain. The condition is degenerative and the pain increases all the time. For the last two years Sproule has had a federal government exemption to use marijuana medicinally to treat the pain. “I can function. It makes a world of difference. Night and day,” said Sproule. Sproule was one of the first people to register as a member at the new Always Growing Green Society Dispensary, which will distribute medicinal marijuana in Maple Ridge. It’s located at 11696 224 Street in an old house the nonprofit society is renovating. Sproule has grown marijuana plants himself or has gotten pot from medicinal marijuana dispensaries in Vancouver but he said the new organization will make a big difference for people who find it hard to travel. “I know a lot of people that it will make an amazing difference for,” he said. “Being able to have a safe place closer to home is a must for everybody. I think these places should be opening up everywhere.” Michael Joinson, director of the
new society, has a similar story to Sproule. He’s had three back surgeries in recent years and had to take 10 to 12 hits of morphine a day. However, since he began using marijuana medicinally he’s cut the amount of morphine he has to take by more than half. “It’s gotten me off harmful pharmaceuticals,” he said. “I still have pain every day but it’s tolerable so I’m not totally angry all day and frustrated.” Joinson finds it upsetting that the only time marijuana is mentioned in the media it’s in relation to organized crime, shootings or illegal grow-ops when he said medicinal marijuana is legal and beneficial to people’s health. Joinson and other members of the society have been busy renovating and cleaning up the sixty-plus year old house the organization will operate out of. They’ve repainted and done patchwork on walls and the house has a comfortable couch and armchairs and lots of natural light. “This house was pretty rough,” said Joinson. The society came up with the funding through individual donations, he added. See POT SHOP, Page 3
‘Suspicious’ fire consumes townhouses
With flames shooting up at least 50 feet above a house close to her’s in Trails Edge subdivision on Friday evening Susan Gottschick and her family grabbed their cat, computer and some jewelry and fled their home for safety. Thankfully their house wasn’t damaged but it was the only one in the fourplex that didn’t have melting siding, shattered windows and smoke damage. Meanwhile, four housing units that were under construction com-
pletely burned to the ground. Gottschick said neighbours ran around the subdivision knocking on people’s door and warning them. Ridge Meadows RCMP and the Maple Ridge Fire Department are investigating the cause of the fire, which they believe to be suspicious. The fire broke out just after 11:30 p.m. in the 24100 block of 106B Avenue. No one was injured. Gottschick is disturbed because
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she thinks the fire could have been set by an arsonist. “I think it’s horrific of course that someone would even consider doing such a thing. There’s elderly people that live here by themselves, there’s lots of young children,” she said. Gottschick described the efforts of the firefighters as “amazing.” “Them arriving and doing their job as they did allowed the saving of the homes that were actually occupied and minimized the other
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damage as best as possible. They were fantastic,” she said. Police and firefighters are also investigating a second suspicious fire that happened just before 8 a.m. on May 1 at a shed in the 24200 block of Lougheed Highway. The shed was extensively damaged and a stolen semi was parked next to it. No arrests have been made in either incident and the cause of the fires is still to be determined. Both investigations are ongoing.
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Fire broke out late Friday night in east Maple Ridge.
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