POT CAMPAIGN DELAYED TWO WEEKS

Seriously ill Calgarians who use medicinal marijuana to ease their
suffering could begin receiving the illegal drug again in two weeks
following a break-in at a house where a hydroponic crop was being
cultivated, says pot crusader Grant Krieger.

Universal Compassion Club, Calgary, which is to be launched officially
this month, lost about $8,000 worth of dried pot and 10 near-mature
plants when thieves broke in early Monday, Krieger said.

Krieger, 44, who has multiple sclerosis, said he was holding the dried
pot on consignment for delivery to members.

`Sad, isn't it?' deadpanned Calgary police Staff Sgt. Paul Laventure,
head of the drug unit. `By his own admission, he had $8,000 worth of
marijuana in his house? If he's got dope and somebody else wants it,
they're going to come in to steal it.'

Krieger said his informants have told him that a small-time criminal
who lives nearby recognized him and realized he might have a stash.
`They've seriously hurt the club,' he said.'right now, we're just dead
in the water.

`But this is just a temporary setback until I have some funds come in
and cannabis.'

Laventure said Krieger is free to call police. However, the victims of
such crimes do not benefit if police locate such loot, he said. `You
could probably face some (legal) jeopardy if you identify it a yours.'

The UCC, which Krieger has been organizing for several months, has
about 25 members, Krieger said. Members said the loss will hit them
hard.

`It's upsetting.' said Brenda Fischer, 37, who has a rare, incurable
connective-tissue disorder called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. People
`really, really need this as medication.'

Mara Czayka, 37, a Turner Valley area resident who has fibromyalgia,
said her first thought was Krieger's wee-being. `All that work and
money and people who are going to suffer,' she said. `That was the
crop that I was actually waiting for.'

Krieger said he will now take pains to spread his crops and inventory
among several locations to minimize the effect of any theft.

Krieger, who questions the legitimacy of marijuana law, has two
marijuana convictions. A Calgary judge fined him $550.00 in October
1998 after he lit a joint in front of the courthouse. A Regina judge
gave him an 18-month suspended sentence in January after convicting
him of trafficking.