A medical marijuana crusader says he will likely die in prison now that a Winnipeg jury has found him guilty of trafficking pot to several clients across Canada.

Grant Krieger said today's verdict shows how little the country cares for the sick and dying and represents a blown opportunity to make a statement.

"I'm ashamed to be a Canadian," the Calgary resident told the Free Press outside court just moments after learning his fate.

Krieger, who runs the Grant W. Krieger Cannabis Research Foundation of Canada, has been battling progressive multiple sclerosis since 1978 and says his only relief comes from smoking and ingesting cannabis.

"They had a chance to change the law. It's a victimless crime they've convicted me of. Now they're gonna kill me when they put me in jail," he said.

Krieger, 53, admitted he broke the law but was seeking to be acquitted on sympathetic grounds. Jurors took only about 30 minutes to reach their unanimous guilty verdict. Krieger is expected to be sentenced early in 2009 and remains free on bail.

"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," said Krieger.

Krieger testified in his own defence earlier this week how his life was in a rapid downward spiral and even included a suicide attempt prior to discovering the magic of marijuana.

"Without it, I wouldn't be standing here before you today," he told jurors. "I'd be in a wheelchair or dead right now."

Krieger said his many customers are in a similar position -- they are suffering from chronic pain, disease and even terminal illness and have come to him looking to improve their quality of life. He admits selling pot to dozens of people across Canada -- including several in Manitoba -- but insisted there is a major difference between him and your garden variety drug dealer

The Crown's case against Krieger was simple -- although he had clearance to possess pot for his own health reasons, he didn't have permission from the federal government to sell marijuana for medicinal reasons. There is a program in place to distribute the drug to those who get special clearance from doctors, but Krieger said the whole system is flawed.

He said most doctors are afraid to make such a declaration. And Krieger ripped the feds for the quality of their drugs, which are produced in Flin Flon.

"It's grown in a dirty mine shaft," Krieger told jurors. He said the drug is overly process and diluted by the time it gets to those in needs, mitigating the relief it can provide.

Krieger said his pot is prime quality stuff, especially when extracted and reduced to "cannabis butter."

"I can't get a good night's sleep from anything else," Krieger told jurors.

He denies profiting from his alleged crime, saying he's "in the red" and frequently gives away drugs to those on fixed incomes who desperately need it.

Krieger's trial began Monday with only one witness being called to testify -- Krieger himself. The Crown didn't call any evidence other than presenting a statement of agreed facts which outlines the details surrounding Krieger's 2004 arrest near Headingley.

Krieger is no stranger to the justice system and is currently appealing another drug conviction from Alberta that netted him a four-month jail sentence. That hearing is set for next week. Krieger also got another conviction overturned by the Supreme Court.

His lawyer, John Hooker, admitted they had a difficult task in getting Krieger acquitted of a crime he readily admits to committing. But he said Dr. Henry Morgentaler once faced a similar challenge when accused of murder for performing abortions. Hooker hopes the federal government will closely study Krieger's case and eventually change the laws so people like his client can distribute marijuana in addition to possessing and cultivating it.