4 December 2008, 9:10 pm
WINNIPEG - A medical marijuana crusader with multiple sclerosis says he will likely die in prison now that a Winnipeg jury has found him guilty of selling pot to clients across Canada who suffer from chronic pain or terminal illnesses. "I'm ashamed to be a Canadian," Grant Krieger, 53, said Wednesday after a jury found him guilty of trafficking. The Calgary resident said the verdict shows how little the country cares for the sick and dying and represents a wasted opportunity to make a statement. "They had a chance to change the law," he said. "It's a victimless crime they've convicted me of. Now they're gonna kill me when they put me in jail." Krieger admitted he broke the law but was seeking to be acquitted on sympathetic grounds. Krieger - who runs the Grant W. Krieger Cannabis Research Foundation of Canada - has been battling progressive MS since 1978 and says his only relief comes from smoking and ingesting cannabis. He admits selling pot to dozens of people across Canada but insisted there is a major difference between him and a garden-variety drug dealer. Krieger said his many customers suffer from chronic pain, disease and even terminal illness and have come to him looking to improve their quality of life. Krieger testified in his own defence earlier this week about how his disease had driven him to the point of attempting at suicide before he started using marijuana. "Without it, I wouldn't be standing here before you today," he told jurors. "I'd be in a wheelchair or dead right now." http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/5299.html... Read More »
Share on del.icio.us
Share on digg
Share on Technorati
Share on reddit
Share on Yahoo!
Share on Furl