MEDICAL MARIJUANA ACTIVIST TO BE DENIED DRUG IN JAIL

CALGARY -- An Alberta medicinal marijuana crusader turned himself in to
police yesterday saying he preferred to spend time in jail rather than pay
fines related to possession of the drug, but he wasn't allowed to take his
bag of pot into custody.

Grant Krieger, 46, who showed up at a Calgary police station with three
ounces of home-grown marijuana and a court ruling that allows him to
possess it, said ingesting cannabis helps ease the symptoms of multiple
sclerosis.

Mr. Krieger has maintained that a December Court of Queen's Bench ruling
that gives him the right to cultivate marijuana for his own purposes should
also apply while he serves jail time in lieu of paying a $500 fine for
breaching probation orders.

Although people have offered to pay the fine for Mr. Krieger, who doesn't
have the money to cover it himself, he would rather draw attention to the
cause, his lawyer, Adriano Iovinelli, said.

"While courts are recognizing marijuana as a legitimate prescription drug,
unfortunately because the government is not producing it and having it
available for people under prescription, you go without if you go to the
remand centre," Mr. Iovinelli said.

In December, Madam Justice Darlene Acton said that although existing
legislation allows exemptions from the drug law for those who can prove
medical necessity, there has been no legal source of cannabis in the country.

Judge Acton called the predicament an "absurdity" and said she was
"troubled" that the Canadian government had not made a legal source of
cannabis available to those who require it. Late last year, Ottawa gave a
contract to a Saskatchewan company to produce marijuana for medical purposes.

The federal government has said it will appeal Judge Acton's ruling.

Last summer, the Ontario Court of Appeal struck down the federal criminal
law banning marijuana after it was argued that the legislation failed to
permit medical use.

"Mr. Krieger may have a court order that allows him to cultivate and
possess marijuana outside of jail, but we have our considerations too,"
said Justice Department spokesman Bart Johnson, referring to safety
concerns and rules against contraband.

Doctors will monitor Mr. Krieger's health while he is in jail, and he will
be get conventional medication if needed, Mr. Johnson said.

"His pot has been taken by the police with the understanding that it will
be released to him once he's finished doing his time," Mr. Iovinelli said.