Tuesday August 1 10:53 AM ET
Score One for Marijuana Proponents
TORONTO (Reuters) - Ontario's highest court ruled that
prohibiting the
possession of marijuana was unconstitutional.
The
Ontario Court of Appeal held the decision for a year to allow Canada to
loosen its federal marijuana laws, but failing that, existing laws against
the drug's use in the province of Ontario will be struck down, the court
said
Monday.
Possessing and cultivating marijuana is illegal under
Canada's Controlled
Drugs and Substances Act, but people may apply for
special legal use for
medicinal purposes.
The Ontario ruling went
beyond upholding a lower court's 1997 decision to
allow an epileptic man the
right to smoke marijuana, the man's lawyer told
Reuters.
"They said
not only are we in agreement that this law was unconstitutional,
but we're
not just going to carve out an exemption for (his client), we're
going to
strike down the law,'' said defense attorney Aaron Harnet.
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