MEDICINAL-POT CRUSADER BUSTED

Expects to ship more 'product' to Manitoba over next few days

AN Alberta medicinal marijuana crusader is demanding RCMP return the dope
and cash they seized from him Wednesday after his car was spot-checked in
Headingley.

Grant Krieger, of Calgary, said yesterday Mounties confiscated $7,500 in
cash and "product'' -- one pound of marijuana divided up for delivery to his
28 clients in Selkirk and Winnipeg.

Krieger, 49, said the officers left him only two grams of pot for his own
personal use, as he is by law allowed to smoke it to control his multiple
sclerosis.

"That was really nice of the two officers," Krieger said.

However, he added he'd like RCMP to return what they took from his trunk so
he can deliver it to medicinal users in Manitoba.

He said the Health Canada-approved users here smoke pot to relieve the
effects of chemotherapy and symptoms of MS and AIDS. "I have people who need
this," he said. "I don't want people going off the deep end and committing
suicide. I'm dealing with terminal people."

Krieger said he admits his guilt in his arrest, but believes he is doing
nothing wrong.

RCMP spokesman Sgt. Steve Saunders said Krieger won't get his "product"
back.

Saunders said police acknowledge Krieger is allowed to possess the drug for
his own medical use, but is not allowed to sell it.

Krieger was released by RCMP on a promise to appear and is to be charged
with possession for the purpose of trafficking. A court date has not been
set.

Krieger, who runs the Grant W. Krieger Cannabis Research Foundation of
Canada, made national headlines last month when a Calgary jury convicted him
of drug trafficking in a controversial trial. He was caught in 1999 when
police raided his house and seized 29 cannabis plants. The jury reached its
verdict after two jurors had asked to be excused, saying they could not in
good conscience convict Krieger.

The judge, Mr. Justice Paul Chrumka, told them there was only one option in
the case -- a finding of guilty -- and refused their requests to be excused.

Krieger was sentenced to one day in jail. The maximum charge for drug
trafficking is life imprisonment. Krieger is considering an appeal.

He said while Ottawa has allowed for the medicinal use of marijuana, it has
refused to supply approved users with pot that's useable.

"They want to give us what they grown in the mine shaft in Flin Flon,' he
said. "The stuff is mulch.''

Prairie Plant Systems, a Saskatoon company, grows the pot under a government
contract. It has recently faced complaints from patients that its pot is
weak.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Paul Martin has said his government will revisit
the decriminalization of possession of small amounts of pot. It proposed
those caught with 15 grams or less of marijuana will not face a criminal
charge.

Krieger said despite his arrest, he will continue to expand his network for
distributing medicinal pot across Canada. He currently has about 400 clients
in Western Canada and Ontario.

"All I do is help sick people," he said, adding he will likely ship in more
marijuana to Manitoba over the next few days to replace what RCMP seized.
"It was a very costly run-in with the RCMP," he said. "Now I have to replace
my stock and find a lawyer."