Pubdate: Thu, 12 Jan 2006 Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Copyright: 2006 The Vancouver Sun Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477 Author: Janice Tibbetts, CanWest News Service Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/grant.htm (Krieger, Grant) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) MEDICAL POT GROWER CHALLENGES LAW OTTAWA -- An ill Alberta man who admits to growing and distributing marijuana for medicinal purposes will challenge his drug trafficking conviction in Supreme Court today in a test of how far juries can go in acquitting people who openly break the law. A lawyer for Grant Krieger, a long-time medical marijuana crusader, will square off against Ottawa over a rare legal safety valve, called jury nullification, which allows jurors to rule against a law in exceptional cases. Krieger, 51, was sentenced to a day in jail for being caught with 29 marijuana plants seven years ago. The Calgary man, who uses marijuana to control multiple sclerosis, runs a "compassion club" to sell or give marijuana for medical purposes. He confessed at his trial but used the seldom successful defence of necessity, arguing he had no choice but to break the law to ensure a reliable supply of pot for patients who have federally approved exemptions to use marijuana. The judge instructed the jurors to convict Krieger, despite strong indications two jurors wanted to acquit him. "Jury nullification runs contrary to the rule of law," federal lawyers wrote in a legal brief in the Supreme Court. "It is animated by sentiment and sympathy rather than logic and consistency." Although judges are supposed to encourage jurors to stick to the letter of the law, Krieger's lawyer, John Hook, argues the Supreme Court formally recognized jury nullification in the 1988 acquittal of abortion doctor Henry Morgentaler. At the time, the bench described the jury's power as "the citizen's ultimate protection against oppressive laws and the oppressive enforcement of the law." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom