MARIJUANA CRUSADER AWAITS COURT RULING

Marijuana crusader Grant Krieger will have to wait to see if he convinced a
Calgary court of his need to grow and sell pot for medicinal purposes.

Court of Queen's Bench Justice Darlene Acton reserved her decision Friday on
whether Krieger's charter rights have been infringed.

The 46-year-old is battling charges of trafficking and cultivating
marijuana, which he claimed was used to help members of his Universal
Compassion Club, a local group which advocates the use of marijuana for
medicinal purposes.

The charges were laid in August 1999.

Krieger suffers from multiple sclerosis.

He and his lawyer, Adriano Iovenelli, argued during the four-day hearing
that the charges should be dropped on the grounds that growing medicinal
marijuana is guaranteed under a section of the Canadian Charter of Rights
and Freedoms which provides for liberty and security.

Acton will deliver her decision Dec. 11.