Supreme Court Grants Pot Activist New Trial

Grant Krieger was charged with possession of marijuana for purposes of trafficking and openly admitted to distributing the drug to others.

But that didn’t matter Thursday, as the Calgary man, who suffers from multiple sclerosis and has legal permission to smoke pot for medical purposes, had his conviction overturned by the Supreme Court of Canada.

In a 7-0 judgment, the court granted a new trial to Krieger, who says he should have the right to distribute marijuana to people who need it to ease the pain of serious illness.

He doesn’t have permission from the federal government to supply it to others — but freely admits he’s done so anyway.

At his trial in 2003, Justice Paul Chrumka of the Court of Queen’s Bench instructed the jury that they had no choice under the law but to find Krieger guilty.

Justice Morris Fish, writing for the unanimous Supreme Court, said Chrumka’s actions deprived the accused of his right to a meaningful jury trial.

“In effect, the trial judge reduced the jury’s role to a ceremonial one,” wrote Fish. “He ordered the conviction and left to the jury, as a matter of form but not of substance, its delivery in open court.”

“The jury did not understand that it had the final call on Krieger’s guilt or innocence,” he added.

Two jurors at that trial objected and said their consciences wouldn’t permit them to convict. They asked to be excused from he case, but the judge refused the request.

Krieger has endured a long legal odyssey since first being charged in 1999 after police seized 29 marijuana plants from a grow-op in his home.