B.C. Is One of the Most Accepting, With 94% Supporting Medical Use Of Marijuana Although Canadians are hardly trading maple leaves for pot leaves, newly published findings suggest Cheech and Chong would feel right at home here. In a nationwide survey, an overwhelming 93 per cent of Canadians indicated they accept the idea of people legally smoking marijuana for health reasons. Nearly three in four (70 per cent) not only accept the practice but also personally approve of the behaviour. [continues 517 words]
Although Canadians are hardly trading maple leaves for pot leaves, newly published findings suggest Cheech and Chong would feel right at home here. In a nationwide survey, an overwhelming 93 per cent of Canadians indicated they accept the idea of people legally smoking marijuana for health reasons. Nearly three in four (70 per cent) not only accept the practice but also personally approve of the behaviour. Support for the overall legalization of marijuana is also strong, with almost half of Canucks giving it a hearty thumbs up - the same percentage of people who, in a 2004 Health Canada sponsored survey were found to have smoked cannabis in their lifetime. [continues 425 words]
Although Canadians are hardly trading maple leaves for pot leaves, newly published findings suggest Cheech and Chong would feel right at home here. In a nationwide survey, an overwhelming 93 per cent of Canadians indicated they accept the idea of people legally smoking marijuana for health reasons. Nearly three in four (70 per cent) not only accept the practice but also personally approve of the behaviour. Support for the overall legalization of marijuana is also strong, with almost half of Canucks giving it a hearty thumbs up -- the same percentage of people who, in a 2004 Health Canada sponsored survey were found to have smoked cannabis in their lifetime. [continues 424 words]
Although Canadians are hardly trading maple leaves for pot leaves, newly published findings suggest Cheech and Chong would feel right at home here. In a nationwide survey, an overwhelming 93 per cent of Canadians indicated they accept the idea of people legally smoking marijuana for health reasons. Nearly three in four (70 per cent) not only accept the practice but also personally approve of the behaviour. Support for the overall legalization of marijuana is also strong, with almost half of Canucks giving it a hearty thumbs up -- the same percentage of people who, in a 2004 Health Canada sponsored survey were found to have smoked cannabis in their lifetime. [continues 292 words]
The case of Grant Krieger, the medical-marijuana activist, reminds us why it's still essential to have trials by jury. If the purpose of a trial were merely to apply the law to a particular case, there would be no need for a jury. Judges are trained to know the law and interpret it. They are better qualified than anyone to decide whether a citizen violated the law. But that's not all a trial is supposed to do. A trial is not only the judgment of the law; it's the judgment of society on one of its members. The law is the measuring-stick, but it's in our hands. [continues 447 words]
The ruling in the trafficking case of Calgary pot crusader Grant Krieger must be the most expected decision in the history of the Supreme Court of Canada. Juries have been empowered to ignore judges and laws they consider unjust - known as jury nullification - for several hundred years. The top court, in a no-nonsense 7-0 judgment last week, had to remind lower-court judges not to tamper with jury deliberations. The court overturned Krieger's conviction. Even if there's compelling evidence that an accused is guilty, jurors still have the right to follow their consciences and acquit, the Supreme Court declared. [continues 541 words]
Supreme Court Says Instructions By Judge Denied Man Constitutional Right To Jury Trial A medical marijuana crusader will get a new trial on drug charges after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled unanimously yesterday that the judge in his original trial had reduced the jury's role to a "ceremonial" one. In a 7-0 judgment, the top court said Grant Krieger of Calgary was deprived of his "constitutional right" to a trial by jury when the judge in the case directed the jury to find the accused guilty of possession of marijuana for the purposes of trafficking. The Supreme Court quashed the conviction and ordered a new trial by jury. [continues 337 words]
(CNS) A medical marijuana crusader from Alberta will get a new trial on drug charges after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled unanimously that the judge in his original trial had reduced the jury's role to a "ceremonial" one. In a 7-0 judgment, the top court said Grant Krieger of Calgary, was deprived of his "constitutional right" to a trial by jury when the judge in the case directed the jury to find the accused guilty of possession of marijuana for the purposes of trafficking. [continues 59 words]
GRANT Krieger's odyssey through Canada's judicial system underscores the lack of logic in meting out criminal sanction for the use or sale of marijuana. Mr. Krieger, legally permitted to smoke pot because he has multiple sclerosis, has become a crusader for those who use marijuana to ease symptoms of chronic disease. Obtaining "medical" marijuana, as it is called, is not easy in Canada and Mr. Krieger has been charged repeatedly for selling pot to sick people. Legally, this makes him a criminal and that, like the law, is absurd. [continues 350 words]
Trial by jury is a constitutional right in Canada. When judges overstep their boundaries and reduce the jury's role to a "ceremonial" one -- as happened in the case of local pot crusader Grant Krieger -- a new trial must be ordered. The Supreme Court properly did that, and unanimously agreed to quash Krieger's conviction. The decision reaffirmed the considerable role a jury plays in seeing that justice is done. The original trial judge, Paul Chrumka, effectively undermined that duty when he ordered jurors to convict Krieger of possessing marijuana for the purposes of trafficking, and then said they were "bound to abide by that direction." [continues 184 words]
Judge 'Usurped' Jurors' Function by Ordering Conviction, Top Court Rules Jurors have an unassailable power to refuse to convict accused people if they sense that a law or prosecution is unjust, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled yesterday. A 7-0 majority ordered a new trial for a Calgary medical marijuana activist -- Grant Wayne Krieger -- concluding that Mr. Krieger was deprived of a probable acquittal when a judge instructed two conscience-stricken jurors that they had no choice but to convict him. [continues 595 words]
Grant Krieger Granted New Trial for 2003 Conviction Medical marijuana activist Grant Krieger is jubilant that Canada's high court unanimously struck down his three-year-old trafficking conviction. "It's excellent. I'm not surprised. Now the court here has to get me another trial," said Krieger, who smokes pot to ease his multiple sclerosis symptoms and has distributed it to others suffering painful medical conditions. "I'm still walking. I'm still fighting. I'm still scrapping," said Krieger, who has maintained he never profited from growing pot. [continues 607 words]
Judges can't usurp the role of jurors by instructing them to convict on overwhelming evidence, Canada's top court ruled yesterday in giving pot crusader Grant Krieger a new trial. The Supreme Court of Canada unanimously voted to overturn Krieger's December 2003 trafficking conviction, saying jurors were entitled to vote with their conscience. The court said Queen's Bench Justice Paul Chrumka erred when he told a Calgary jury they had no choice but to find Krieger guilty, after his defence of necessity was dismissed. [continues 244 words]
Supreme Court Rules Jury's Role Usurped OTTAWA - A medical marijuana crusader from Alberta will get a new trial on drug charges after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled unanimously Thursday the judge in his original trial had reduced the jury's role to a "ceremonial" one. In a 7-0 judgment, the top court said Grant Krieger of Calgary was deprived of his "constitutional right" to a trial by jury when the judge in the case directed the jury to find the accused guilty of possession of marijuana for the purposes of trafficking. [continues 468 words]
OTTAWA -- A medical marijuana crusader from Alberta will get a new trial on drug charges after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled unanimously Thursday the judge in his original trial had reduced the jury's role to a "ceremonial" one. In a 7-0 judgment, the top court said Grant Krieger of Calgary was deprived of his "constitutional right" to a trial by jury when the judge in the case directed the jury to find the accused guilty of possession of marijuana for the purposes of trafficking. It quashed Krieger's conviction and ordered a new trial by jury. [continues 456 words]
New Trial for Marijuana Crusader; Jury Had Been Directed to Find Man Guilty of Possession for Purposes of Trafficking A medical marijuana crusader from Alberta will get a new trial on drug charges after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled unanimously yesterday that the judge in his original trial had reduced the jury's role to a "ceremonial" one. In a 7-0 judgment, the top court said Grant Krieger of Calgary was deprived of his "constitutional right" to a trial by jury when the judge in the case directed the jury to find the accused guilty of possession of marijuana for the purposes of trafficking. It quashed Krieger's conviction and ordered a new trial by jury. [continues 457 words]
OTTAWA -- A medical marijuana crusader from Alberta will get a new trial on drug charges after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled unanimously yesterday the judge in his original trial had reduced the jury's role to a "ceremonial" one. In a 7-0 judgment, the top court said Grant Krieger of Calgary was deprived of his "constitutional right" to a trial by jury when the judge in the case directed the jury to find the accused guilty of possession of marijuana for the purposes of trafficking. It quashed Krieger's conviction and ordered a new trial by jury. [continues 429 words]
Top Court Upholds Principle of Jury Nullification, Quashes Earlier Conviction OTTAWA - A medical marijuana crusader from Alberta will get a new trial on drug charges after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled unanimously Thursday that the judge in his 2003 trial had reduced the jury's role to a "ceremonial" one. In a 7-0 judgment, the top court said Grant Krieger of Calgary was deprived of his "constitutional right" to a trial by jury when the judge in the case directed the jury to find the accused guilty of possession of marijuana for the purposes of trafficking. [continues 436 words]
Marijuana Crusader Wins Appeal OTTAWA -- A medical marijuana crusader from Alberta will get a new trial on drug charges after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled unanimously Thursday the judge in his 2003 trial had reduced the jury's role to a "ceremonial" one. In a 7-0 judgment, the top court said Grant Krieger of Calgary was deprived of his "constitutional right" to a trial by jury when the judge in the case directed the jury to find the accused guilty of possession of marijuana for the purposes of trafficking. It quashed Krieger's conviction and ordered a new trial by jury. [continues 475 words]
Supreme Court Quashes Alberta Conviction OTTAWA -- A medical marijuana crusader from Alberta will get a new trial on drug charges after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled unanimously Thursday the judge in his 2003 trial had reduced the jury's role to a "ceremonial" one. In a 7-0 judgment, the top court said Grant Krieger of Calgary was deprived of his "constitutional right" to a trial by jury when the judge in the case directed the jury to find the accused guilty of possession of marijuana for the purposes of trafficking. It quashed Krieger's conviction and ordered a new trial by jury. [continues 214 words]
