SUPREME COURT QUASHES CONVICTION OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA CRUSADER

(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.

It quashed Mr. Krieger's conviction and ordered a new trial by jury.
"The trial judge's direction was not a 'slip of the tongue,'" Justice
Morris Fish wrote. "In effect, the trial judge reduced the jury's
role to a ceremonial one."

Mr. Krieger uses marijuana to help cope with his multiple sclerosis.