[420 Girl]

A retired Winnipeg police officer has turned pot crusader, calling for marijuana to be legalized.

Former staff sgt. Bill VanderGraaf, 58, told CBC News he believes marijuana is less harmful than other substances and it's time for regulation.

"We control gambling, we control cigarettes, and we control alcohol — and alcohol is perhaps the worst of all the substances." he said. "I think it's more dangerous than a lot of the chemical substances that are out there."

VanderGraaf said marijuana isn't the dangerous gateway drug that some make it out to be, and he believes in its medicinal benefits.

"It's quite a beneficial substance. It helps a lot of people and hey, I quite enjoy it, to be honest," he said.

VanderGraaf was convicted in 2007 of growing marijuana in his home in the city's East Kildonan neighbourhood.

Already retired at the time, after nearly 30 years on the force, he was charged with production and possession of pot after police pulled 21 plants and growing equipment from his house.

VanderGraaf said he was using the drug for his own enjoyment and to treat the pain of his ailing father, who was suffering from ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease.

The medicinal marijuana that he provided to his father was a better pain reliever than traditional treatments for the cramps and discomfort caused by the disease, VanderGraaf said.

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