Medical marijuana crusader convicted

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- A veteran Canadian campaigner for legal medical marijuana was convicted in Manitoba of drug trafficking for providing marijuana to the disabled.

Grant Krieger, 53, said he was "ashamed to be Canadian" Wednesday after a jury in Winnipeg unanimously denied his pleas for clemency on humaitarian grounds, the Winnipeg Free Press reported.

"It's a victimless crime they've convicted me of," he told reporters. "Now they're gonna kill me when they put me in jail."

Krieger was diagnosed with progressive multiple sclerosis in 1978, and he told jurors the only way he can ease pain enough to sleep is by smoking or eating marijuana.

The trafficking charge came from selling his homegrown marijuana to people across the country who have similar diseases or terminal illnesses, the newspaper said.

"I know I didn't have a legal ground to stand on, but our society is not supposed to discriminate. They're penalizing the sick," Krieger told reporters.

He will be free on bail until sentencing early next year, the report said.