MEDICINAL 'POT' SELLER LOOKS HERE

An Alberta medicinal marijuana vendor is hoping to open a branch of his
business in Regina in the next month.

Grant Krieger suffers from progressive multiple sclerosis and has been an
advocate of using marijuana for pain relief for years. He and his wife,
Marie, have run the Krieger Foundation in Calgary for two years. The
foundation provides marijuana, and other alternative treatment methods, for
purchase by people with proven medical conditions.

"We're talking to a client right now who has expressed an interest in
helping us set up (in Regina) because there's nothing there," said Krieger,
a former Saskatchewan resident. "Hopefully within about the next month,
we're going to be coming down to open up a branch there."

The foundation has locations in Calgary and Edmonton. Besides Regina,
Krieger is hoping to look into a location in Saskatoon as well.

The foundation does not have a retail store and, although products can be
picked up, the majority of purchases are mailed across Canada. Krieger
believes the foundation provides a safe means to acquire products.

"The people who are licensed by the government have no legal source to get
their medicine from, so they have to go into the streets to either buy the
means to grow their own or to buy their own product."

If a outlet does open here, Regina police say they will investigate.

"If there are any laws being violated, we will certainly investigate and
lay the appropriate charges," city police Sgt. Rick Bourassa said.

Krieger is no stranger to legal battles involving marijuana. Most recently,
he won a case in the Alberta Court of Appeal. In December, the court upheld
a Queen's Bench ruling allowing him the right to grow and use cannabis for
pain relief.

Marcus Davies, a Saskatchewan Medical Association spokeman, said physicians
have many concerns about prescribing marijuana to patients.

"It's up to doctors, when making a prescription for somebody, to advise
them of the risks and the benefits," said Davies. "What physicians feel at
this point is, 'as an individual physician, I don't have enough information
to properly advise my patient as to the risks and benefits of marijuana'.

"When a physician prescribes something to a patient, we know what is in
that capsule or we'll know what is in the vial," explained Davies. "But, at
this point, to prescribe marijuana that comes from a source that is
unknown, well what is in that? There is no control over the source, the
supply, etcetera."