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Top court unanimously strikes down conviction of pot activist
By BILL GRAVELAND The Canadian Press
CALGARY A medical marijuana activist says he is raring to be tried again now that the Supreme Court has overturned his 2003 conviction for pot trafficking.
"Im 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.
In a 7-0 judgment Thursday, the court overturned the conviction, in effect sending the case back for a new trial if the Crown chooses to proceed.
Krieger, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, has legal permission from the federal government to smoke pot for medical purposes. He doesnt have permission to supply it to others but freely admits that hes done so anyway in an effort to ease the pain of serious illness.
"I want another trial here. I want this issue on the table just like (abortion activist Henry) Morgentalers issue this has to come out," said Krieger.
"Let the collective conscience speak over this issue and not our laws."
Officials with Alberta Justice werent immediately available to comment on whether a new trial would be ordered.
If it is, it will mark the third time Krieger faces a jury on the same charge of possession of marijuana for purposes of trafficking.
Krieger has endured a long legal odyssey since he was first charged in 1999 after police seized 29 marijuana plants, the fruit of a grow-op he admitted to maintaining at his Calgary home.
He was acquitted by the first jury to hear the case in 2001, but that verdict was later thrown out by the Alberta Court of Appeal.
At the second trial in 2003, Justice Paul Chrumka of Court of Queens Bench instructed the jury that they had no choice, based on the evidence in the case and the letter of the law, except to find Krieger guilty.
Two jurors objected and said their consciences wouldnt permit them to convict. They asked to be excused from the case, but the judge refused.
"They had no choice," recalled Krieger. "Two of the jurors asked to be excused because they were crying and they didnt want to convict me they said I did nothing wrong."
Justice Morris Fish, writing for the unanimous Supreme Court, said Chrumkas actions deprived Krieger of his right to a meaningful jury trial.
By BILL GRAVELAND The Canadian Press
CALGARY A medical marijuana activist says he is raring to be tried again now that the Supreme Court has overturned his 2003 conviction for pot trafficking.
"Im 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.
In a 7-0 judgment Thursday, the court overturned the conviction, in effect sending the case back for a new trial if the Crown chooses to proceed.
Krieger, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, has legal permission from the federal government to smoke pot for medical purposes. He doesnt have permission to supply it to others but freely admits that hes done so anyway in an effort to ease the pain of serious illness.
"I want another trial here. I want this issue on the table just like (abortion activist Henry) Morgentalers issue this has to come out," said Krieger.
"Let the collective conscience speak over this issue and not our laws."
Officials with Alberta Justice werent immediately available to comment on whether a new trial would be ordered.
If it is, it will mark the third time Krieger faces a jury on the same charge of possession of marijuana for purposes of trafficking.
Krieger has endured a long legal odyssey since he was first charged in 1999 after police seized 29 marijuana plants, the fruit of a grow-op he admitted to maintaining at his Calgary home.
He was acquitted by the first jury to hear the case in 2001, but that verdict was later thrown out by the Alberta Court of Appeal.
At the second trial in 2003, Justice Paul Chrumka of Court of Queens Bench instructed the jury that they had no choice, based on the evidence in the case and the letter of the law, except to find Krieger guilty.
Two jurors objected and said their consciences wouldnt permit them to convict. They asked to be excused from the case, but the judge refused.
"They had no choice," recalled Krieger. "Two of the jurors asked to be excused because they were crying and they didnt want to convict me they said I did nothing wrong."
Justice Morris Fish, writing for the unanimous Supreme Court, said Chrumkas actions deprived Krieger of his right to a meaningful jury trial.
