Pubdate: Thu, 30 Oct 2008 Source: Calgary Sun, The (CN AB) Copyright: 2008 The Calgary Sun Contact: http://www.calgarysun.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/67 Author: Dean Pritchard Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal - Canada) POT ACTIVIST MAY GO TO JOINT WINNIPEG -- Jurors took less than one hour yesterday to convict a Calgary medicinal pot activist of drug trafficking. "As far as I'm concerned, all the marijuana laws do is suppress sick people," said a dejected Grant Krieger following the verdict. Jurors convicted the 54-year-old Calgary man of trafficking in marijuana, possession for the purpose of trafficking and possession of property obtained by crime. Krieger was arrested Jan. 4, 2004, after Headingley RCMP pulled his car over and found half a kilogram of marijuana in the trunk and nearly $4,000 in cash. Krieger -- who suffers from MS and is legally allowed to possess marijuana for his own consumption -- told police he was delivering the marijuana to a Winnipeg "manager" for re-sale to other ailing or terminally ill pot users. Krieger's admissions to police -- which he did not contest -- left jurors little legal room to acquit him, outside of a nullified verdict. Justice Shaun Greenberg told jurors to set aside whatever sympathy they might feel for Krieger in determining his guilt or innocence. Under Canadian law, medicinal marijuana users must receive a doctor's approval before receiving government clearance to legally possess and consume marijuana. Users have three ways to obtain marijuana: Grow it themselves, buy it from a government endorsed seller, or directly from the government itself. Krieger said yesterday's legal setback has drained his will to fight. He's scheduled to be sentenced sometime next year. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin