cannabisnews.com: Feeding Good Medicine To A Cranky Government!





Feeding Good Medicine To A Cranky Government!
Posted by FoM on July 13, 1999 at 13:10:27 PT
Source: High Times
CALGARY, ALBERTA-- Medical-marijuana activist Grant Krieger, 44, has a big vision. The founder of Calgary's 30-member Universal Compassion Club, Krieger wants to see similar cannabis co-ops in every electoral district in Canada.
 And if the list of hurdles he has already faced is any indication, neither cops, nor courts, nor ripoffs will deter Krieger from his crusade to provide high-quality pot at a reasonable price to those in pain.http://www.drugsense.org/ucc/"I believe no one who is ill should be denied the right to be able to try an alternative medicine that may very well afford them a much better quality of life," says Krieger, who suffers from multiple sclerosis. He first tried cannabis to control his pain and muscle spasms in 1994, after his MS had been exacerbated by a series of car accidents. The pharmaceuticals he was prescribed made his MS symptoms worse, he says, and he experienced wild mood swings, and even attempted suicide. When he found that cannabis relieved his symptoms and his stress, Grant and his wife Marie became believers.Diversifying For SecurityLast year the Kriegers moved to Calgary from Regina, Saskatchewan, where they had been operating a hemp-clothing company and serving on the board of directors of SASKHEMP, an organization promoting industrial-hemp cultivation in the province. Once in Alberta, the Kriegers began working to open Calgary's Universal Compassion Club.The UCC was preparing to officially open its doors this spring when its entire stash, about $8000 worth, was ripped off in a break-in on May 31. The thieves took dried marijuana, ten almost-mature plants from a hydroponic crop Krieger was growing, and a small amount of cash which was marked "donation." The cops sneered about the break-in to the press.Krieger vowed he would from then on store the club's stash in various locations, ensuring a stable supply even if the club is raided or ripped off again. He also publicly declared that he would spread the growing operations around, and have some patient/customers take on cultivation responsibilities, with equipment and support from the UCC."I'm starting to cultivate cannabis in sick people's homes," Krieger tells HIGH TIMES. "For that they receive part of the proceeds of the crop, and the centre will receive the rest. I met with the police department and told them I don't want them raiding ill people's houses."Krieger is also looking to diversify his sources. This quest recently took him to Grand Forks near the British Columbia/Washington State border, to meet with BC growers. While there, he attended a convention of western Canadian and northwestern US compassion cooperatives, at which the new Canadian Cannabis Coalition was born.http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n646.a07.html The CCC is "dedicated to facilitating a safe, accessible supply of therapeutic cannabis through research, education and advocacy."Changing The Laws, Painfully And ExpensivelyKrieger is skilled at using the courts and the media to further his issues. In 1997 he lit a joint on the courthouse steps in Calgary to protest the trial of another medical-pot user. He was arrested and charged with possession--and also "intent to traffic." The trial became "more of a sentencing case," according to Krieger's Calgary lawyer, Adriano Iovinelli. The prosecution originally sought 90 days in jail for Krieger, and the eventual $550 fine sent a clear message of judicial leniency."Now," says Iovinelli, "when sentencing marijuana-trafficking cases, the court considers if the marijuana is for medical use, personal use or profit."Last January, Krieger was sentenced for Saskatchewan charges dating back to May 1996, when he and Marie were running an informal buyers' co-op in Regina. While he was away in Amsterdam his home was raided, Marie was busted for trafficking, possession and having the proceeds of crime on the premises, and a warrant was issued for Grant's arrest. Ultimately, the court gave him only 150 hours of community service and 18 months of probation, another precedent-setting sentence in that jurisdiction.But Krieger challenges the government's right to sentence him at all. He hasn't done the community service, due to his disability. And this May he told his probation officer she could forget about him checking in with her any more."I was nothing more than a political prisoner," Krieger told the Calgary Herald. "Society doesn't have the right to tell me how to heal my body or what I may or may not use in the process." Besides, he explains, "I can't afford it. I get a disability payment of $770 a month. My rent and utilities come to $725. It costs me $3 every time I go downtown. You do the math."Bust Him For Anything BUT PotOn June 23 Krieger was stopped by Calgary police in a traffic check. They ran his name and discovered he hadn't been reporting to his probation officer. They took him into custody, and eventually charged him with breach of probation. He will enter a plea on July 28. While in custody he handed police a roach he was holding, and requested that he be busted for it. The cops have so far declined to press possession charges."The Drug Unit doesn't want to bust him or bug him," says Iovinelli. "But they're worried about him being a target, and getting injured in a robbery." The Kreigers have two teenage children still living at home with them, and another away at college."I've learned to appreciate his way of fighting these issues," Iovinelli adds. "If it weren't for Grant and other people, the Canadian government wouldn't be looking at legalization."And in his home electoral district of Calgary SW, Krieger knows how he'll involve his own federal Member of Parliament in the cause."I met with him last December," says Krieger, "and he told me if I opened a compassion club he would happy to come down and cut the ribbon. And I'm going to hold him to it."http://www.drugsense.org/ucc/hsedebate.htmlhttp://www.hightimes.com/ht/new/9907/cangrant.html
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