Pubdate: Mon, 11 Dec 2000
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2000 Southam Inc.
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Author: Adrian Humphreys

MEDICINAL MARIJUANA RULING EXPECTED TODAY

Constitutional challenge:  Calgary man with MS wants to grow,
distribute cannabis

Grant Krieger, who eats marijuana to ease his multiple sclerosis,
launched a constitutional challenge to have criminal charges dismissed.

An Alberta court is expected to decide today if a man suffering a
debilitating disorder has the right to grow marijuana for medicinal
purposes and sell the drug to others claiming a similar need.

The case of Grant Krieger, 46, a Calgary man with multiple sclerosis,
is the latest in a series of Canadian court challenges aimed at
eroding legal restrictions on the drug, which has been shown to have
medical benefits for some illnesses.

A decision in his favour could force the federal government to rework
Criminal Code of Canada provisions regarding drug trafficking and
possession, said Adriano Iovinelli, Mr. Krieger's lawyer.

Mr. Krieger's case centres on challenging criminal charges laid
against him after police raided his home in August, 1999, and seized
more than 10 pounds of marijuana.

The drug was destined for personal use and for sale to a select list
of people who are suffering from terminal or chronic conditions, said
Mr. Krieger.

He is making a constitutional challenge to have his pending charges of
cultivating, manufacturing and distributing marijuana dismissed.

After his arrest, Mr. Krieger spent 16 days in jail. While imprisoned,
he had no access to marijuana.

"I walked into jail and I came out in a wheelchair," he said. "It was
enough time to take away my quality of life by forcing me back into a
wheelchair because I never had my medicine while in jail."

He said he needs to eat marijuana to keep his muscles from severely
stiffening.

Access to a safe and legal supply of marijuana is at the root of Mr.
Krieger's challenge of Canada's drug laws and a growing number of
other cases by people suffering terminal or chronic conditions who
claim cannabis is the best medicine.

Mr. Krieger's case follows the successes of Jim Wakeford, a Toronto
social activist who has AIDS, and Terry Parker, a Toronto man with a
severe form of epilepsy.

Mr. Wakeford said marijuana eases his intense nausea caused by the
drugs used to fight his immune deficiency. Mr. Parker argued it is the
only substance that dramatically reduces the frequency of his seizures.

Both men argued Charter of Rights challenges that the restrictions on
the drug violated their rights to life and security. In the two
Ontario cases, the courts agreed.

In response, the federal government has been issuing special
certificates to some terminally ill patients, granting them immunity
from prosecution for possessing the drug for personal use.

However, that leaves many issues unresolved. Although the patients are
able to possess and use the drug, there is no legal source for it in
Canada.

"Right now, they issue a certificate to a person who is terminally ill
and somebody in that family has to go and break the law by acquiring
the medicine for them, which is entrapment," said Mr. Krieger.

In a significant departure from previous cases, this challenge is
about expanding the allowances on medicinal marijuana to cover people
producing it for others, not just for personal use, said Mr. Iovinelli.

"Grant Krieger has admittedly opened up a compassion club in Calgary
and said, 'Look, if you have a medical need for it, rather than going
to the criminal element to get your marijuana, you can come to me and
I will supply it for the cost of manufacturing the cannabis,' " he
said.

Mr. Wakeford, who won the right to personally grow and smoke marijuana
in May, 1999, said Mr. Krieger's case is "exciting."

The cumulative effect of numerous challenges are slowly showing the
government's policies on the drug to be absurd, he said.

"Allan Rock [the Minister of Health] has been stalling and diddling
along with this ... If you waited for the government to help, you'd be
dead."

Justice Darlene Acton, of the Court of Queen's Bench in Calgary, is
expected to deliver her decision on the case this afternoon.

If Mr. Krieger loses his bid, his charges will be heard before a judge
and jury.
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