The Supreme Court of Canada has overturned the conviction of a medical marijuana crusader, ruling the trial judge erred by directing the jury to find the man guilty.

In a 7-0 judgment released Thursday, the court granted a new trial to Grant Krieger, a Calgary man who had been found guilty on charges of possession of pot for purposes of trafficking.

Grant Krieger, shown speaking to reporters outside a Calgary courthouse in 2000, has won a new trial on his medical marijuana conviction.
(Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

"The crucial fight is still ahead," Krieger told CBC News after the ruling was released. "However, if a judge properly instructs a jury of my peers, I should be able to get a proper verdict out of them, whether it be guilty or not guilty."

Krieger suffers from multiple sclerosis and has legal permission to smoke marijuana for medical purposes. He says he should have the right to distribute marijuana to others who need it to ease the pain of serious illness.

The judge at Krieger's trial in 2003 instructed the jury to "retire to the jury room to consider what I have said, appoint one of yourselves to be your foreperson, and then to return to the court with a verdict of guilty."

Two jurors objected, one on religious grounds and the other on grounds of conscience. They asked to be excused from the case, but the judge refused the request.

The top court ruled that the judge deprived Krieger of his constitutional right to a trial by jury when he gave his instructions.

"The trial judge's direction was not a 'slip of the tongue' to be evaluated in the context of the charge as a whole," the court wrote.

"His purpose and words were clear. In effect, the trial judge reduced the jury's role to a ceremonial one: he ordered the conviction and left to the jury, as a matter of form but not of substance, its delivery in open court."

Krieger doesn't have permission from the federal government to supply marijuana to others, but freely admits that he has done so regardless.

With files from the Canadian Press