NORML New Zealand Online News Service ==================================
TORONTO, July 31 (Reuters) - Ontario's highest court ruled on Monday 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.
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 defence attorney Aaron Harnet.
18:59 07-31-00
Copyright 2000 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by
framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be
liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All active hyperlinks have
been inserted by AOL.
================================================ National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, NZ Inc.
Website: http://www.norml.org.nz Email: norml@apc.org.nz Subscribe to NORML News Online! Send mailto:norml@apc.org.nz
with 'subscribe' [or 'unsubscribe'] in subject line
60 Queen Street Auckland New Zealand PO Box 3307 Shortland St Auckland 1015 Ph +64 9 302-5255 Fax +64 9 303-1309