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Krieger To Appeal Conviction
Pubdate: Tue, 31 May 2005
Source: Calgary Herald (CN AB)
Copyright: 2005 Calgary Herald
Contact: http://www.canada.com/calgary/calgaryherald/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/66
Author: Sherri Zickefoose
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/grant.htm (Krieger, Grant)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal - Canada)
KRIEGER TO APPEAL CONVICTION
Controversial marijuana crusader Grant Krieger has won the right to appeal
a trafficking conviction to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Krieger, who suffers from multiple sclerosis and uses marijuana to ease his
symptoms, is waiting to learn when his case will be heard and expects it
will be sometime next year.
The 50-year-old Calgarian is challenging his 2003 conviction for possession
of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking which came after he was caught
with 29 pot plants.
"Maybe this will be the start of the change," he said Monday. "This is
going help sick people out there, that's the only reason I'm (in court).
The laws have to change to help the sick and not the recreational smokers."
Krieger was convicted after admitting on the stand that he provided
marijuana to terminally sick people.
Krieger's defence lawyer John Hooker says the judge instructed the jury to
convict. The jury should have reached a conclusion on its own, he says, and
that means Krieger's conviction should be overturned.
The pot activist appealed his conviction to the Alberta Court of Appeal in
April, but lost.
Krieger's battle to use marijuana to ease his pain gained notoriety several
years ago. In 1996, he was arrested in Amsterdam while attempting to board
a flight to Canada.
He had one kilogram of pot in his possession at the time but was not
prosecuted there.
In 1998, he was fined after lighting a joint on the steps of Calgary's
Court of Queen's Bench.
Still, Krieger, who runs a "compassion club" that provides pot to others
who use it for medicinal reasons, remains dogged in his quest to fight the
country's drug laws.
"It's a full-time job, and I'm willing to give more yet. The laws need to
change."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom