CALGARY -- A medical marijuana activist who was once arrested in Manitoba says he is raring to be tried again now that the Supreme Court has overturned his 2003 conviction for pot trafficking. "I'm very happy the Supreme Court had the good sense to give me a trial, because I do want a trial by my peers," Grant Krieger said in an interview Thursday. The top court ruled that the Alberta judge who ordered a jury to convict Krieger went too far and violated his rights. [continues 467 words]
Grant Krieger, a well-known pot crusader, has again been found guilty of trafficking in marijuana after he sent packages to people in Manitoba for medicinal uses on two separate occasions. Provincial court Judge William Pepler found Krieger guilty Monday of two counts of trafficking in marijuana on Dec. 3, 2003 and Jan. 8, 2004. Krieger's lawyer, John Hooker, had used a Charter argument that was successful in the Henry Morgentaler case, in which the government permits women to legally have abortions but then puts hurdles in place. [continues 205 words]
Recreational marijuana users are a thorn in the side of those advocating the illicit drug for medical purposes, longtime medical marijuana crusader Grant Krieger told a judge on Tuesday. "I have no use for recreational smokers. They cause us sick people problems," said Krieger, 52, who is on trial for two counts of trafficking in marijuana stemming from packages destined for ill fellow users in Manitoba but intercepted by courier companies on Dec. 23, 2003, and Jan. 8, 2004. "They have lots of disposable income. I live on $855 a month, for rent, food, utilities and other expenses." [continues 387 words]
CALGARY -- The government provides a legal method for a person to grow and possess marijuana for personal medical reasons, but makes it "almost impossible" to do so, a lawyer argued on Wednesday. John Hooker, counsel for longtime Calgary pot crusader Grant Krieger, told provincial court Judge William Pepler that it is similar to the abortion issue, in which the government permits women to legally have abortions, then puts so many hurdles in place. "Very few doctors will sign certificates for persons to be allowed to possess and use marijuana," said Hooker. "So it is unfair to convict people in such a case as this." [continues 123 words]
The government provides a legal method for a person to grow and possess marijuana for personal medical reasons, but makes it "almost impossible" to do so, a lawyer argued on Wednesday. John Hooker, counsel for longtime Calgary pot crusader Grant Krieger, told provincial court Judge William Pepler that it is similar to the issue in the Morgentaler case, in which the government permits women to legally have abortions but then puts hurdles in place. "Very few doctors will sign certificates for persons to be allowed to possess and use marijuana," said Hooker. "So it is unfair to convict people in such a case as this." [continues 167 words]
Too Many Hurdles, Lawyer Tells Court CALGARY - The government provides a legal method for a person to grow and possess marijuana for personal medical reasons, but makes it "almost impossible" to do so, a lawyer argued yesterday. John Hooker, counsel for longtime Calgary pot crusader Grant Krieger, told provincial court Justice William Pepler the medical marijuana issue is similar to the abortion issue, in which the government permits women to legally have abortions, then puts many hurdles in place. "Very few doctors will sign certificates for persons to be allowed to possess and use marijuana," Mr. Hooker said. "So it is unfair to convict people in such a case as this." [continues 191 words]
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 longtime 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. [continues 207 words]
Out of a sense of compassion or a feeling that a law is antiquated, jurors have been occasionally loathe to convict people who've committed crimes. In the past, they paid dearly for it. In 1670, jurors were jailed and fined because they refused to convict William Penn for illegally preaching a Quaker sermon in England. They stood their ground and the high court eventually freed them, declaring that jurors ought to be free to judge their peers as they see fit. [continues 566 words]
Test of rare defence seeking 'jury nullification'; Medical marijuana crusader admitted providing drug, but argued his only option was to break the law JANICE TIBBETTS, CanWest News Service An ill Alberta man who admits to growing and distributing marijuana for medicinal purposes will challenge his drug trafficking conviction in the 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 longtime medical marijuana crusader, will square off against Ottawa over a rare [continues 355 words]
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 longtime 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. [continues 243 words]
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 a jury can go in acquitting people who openly break the law. A lawyer for Grant Krieger, a longtime 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. [continues 408 words]
Judge Instructed Jurors To Convict 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 longtime medical mari-juana 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. [continues 448 words]
Supreme Court To Give Ruling An ill Alberta man who admits to growing and distributing marijuana for medicinal purposes will challenge his drug trafficking conviction in the 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 longtime 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. [continues 316 words]
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. [continues 157 words]
Grant Krieger, the Alberta medical marijuana activist whose appeal from a 2003 drug-trafficking conviction is to be heard by the Supreme Court of Canada today, will be able to attend the hearing now that a group of pot activists has paid his travel expenses. Mr. Krieger was not going to travel to Ottawa because he lives on a government pension, and legal aid would pay only his lawyer's costs. But several cannabis activists from Ottawa, Hamilton and Vancouver pooled money to cover his air fare and hotel costs. Mr. Krieger wants his conviction overturned because the judge in the case told the jury they had no choice but to convict him. [end]
A Convicted Pot Activist Whose Appeal Is Heading to the Top Court Says the Jurors, Not the Judge, 'Should Have Had the Final Word' A drug-trafficking conviction handed to Alberta medicinal-marijuana activist Grant Krieger will come under the scrutiny of the Supreme Court of Canada tomorrow. But Mr. Krieger's appeal is likely to shed more light on legal issues concerning judges' instructions to juries than it will on the merits of the healing powers of cannabis. The case stems from a 1999 raid on Mr. Krieger's house, where 29 marijuana plants were seized. Mr. Krieger, who has multiple sclerosis, said he used the pot to alleviate his pain. He also supplied the marijuana to others who used it for medicinal purposes. [continues 849 words]
But Activists Say Legal Users Still Can't Get The Drug Need pot? Check the cough medicine aisle. Marijuana is being sold in small doses as a herbal remedy at some Calgary pharmacies. Despite this new product, local pot activists say government-sanctioned users still have trouble getting the drug. Med-Marijuana cannabis oil tablets are being sold over the counter at more than a dozen pharmacies in Calgary. The gel-capped pills contain less than ten parts per million of tetrahydrocannabinol, the intoxicating substance in marijuana, said Shirley Martin, spokeswoman for product distributor Doni Marketing Inc. [continues 364 words]
CALGARY - Marijuana is being sold in small doses as a herbal remedy at more than a dozen Calgary pharmacies. The gel-capped tablets, marketed under the name Med-Marijuana, each contain less than ten parts per million of tetrahydrocannabinol, the intoxicating substance in marijuana, said Shirley Martin, spokeswoman for distributor Doni Marketing Inc. "You don't smoke it, you don't get the munchies and you can't get high," Martin said. The herbal medicine made by a Nova Scotia company is approved by Health Canada, she said. [continues 229 words]
A local marijuana and hemp activist facing charges under a section of law that was struck down nearly three years ago is refusing to go down without a fight. Max Cornelssen, 63, will be in Court of Queen's Bench, Edmonton, on Oct. 13 to demand the charges against him - cultivation and possession with intent to distribute - be dropped, because Parliament has not re-enacted a section of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act that prohibits people from growing ganja. His argument is based on a 2002 case in which the Alberta Court of Appeals upheld a ruling that said the section of the CDSA prohibiting marijuana cultivation was in violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, because it prevented people from using marijuana for medicinal purposes. [continues 210 words]
Smoke You In Court Canadian judges are once again being asked to go where politicians obviously can't - to the bottom of the marijuana issue. In the process, a triumvirate of the hardest of Canada's hardcore marijuana militants is taking - and being taken - to the courts. Vancouver seed salesman Marc Emery, who compares himself to Gandhi and Martin Luther King, is the enfant terrible of the marijuana movement. U.S. authorities want him extradited to face a possible life sentence for selling marijuana seeds to Americans, which apparently is not a crime in this country. (While there is some talk of mounting a major public awareness campaign on his behalf, last week the ever ostentatious Emery further endeared himself to would-be supporters by calling Justice Minister Irwin Cotler "a Nazi-Jew.") [continues 257 words]
