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CN ON: Ontario Court Strikes Down Marijuana Law-Gives Ottawa Year To Clarify It
Jennifer OBrien Newfoundland Evening Telegram (Canada)
Tuesday 01 Aug 2000 Subj: CN ON: Ontario Court Strikes Down Marijuana Law-Gives Ottawa Year To Clarify It Pubdate: Tue, 01 Aug 2000 Source: Newfoundland Evening Telegram (Canada) Author: Jennifer OBrien ONTARIO COURT STRIKES DOWN MARIJUANA LAW; GIVES OTTAWA YEAR TO CLARIFY IT TORONTO (CP) - Ontario's highest court has declared the law prohibiting the possession of marijuana unconstitutional and has given Ottawa a year to amend it. The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled Monday that Canada's marijuana law fails to recognize that people who suffer from chronic illnesses can use pot as medicine. As a result, the court ruled that if Ottawa does not clarify the law within 12 months the law prohibiting marijuana possession in Ontario will be struck down, which could eventually lead to similar challenges across the country. In the meantime however, possession of marijuana in Canada is still illegal, and the law remains in full force and effect. The ruling was part of a decision which upheld a lower court judge's decision that has allowed an epileptic Toronto man to smoke pot for the past three years. Terry Parker, 44, said marijuana has virtually alleviated the 15 to 80 weekly seizures he suffered for about 40 years as a symptom of his illness. "The decision will open doors across the country for sick Canadians who need pot to help alleviate symptoms such as nausea and vomiting," said Parker's lawyer, Aaron Harnett. Under Canada's Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, it is illegal to possess and cultivate marijuana. People who need it for medicinal purposes can apply for exemptions. The court is asking that the exemption be written into the law, to prevent unnecessary charges against sick people, like Parker, said Harnett. Parker has not had a seizure since December 1997, when Judge Patrick Sheppard stayed charges of marijuana cultivation and possession against him, ruling that Canada's marijuana law violated Parker's rights to liberty and security, and was therefore unconstitutional. "I am quite ecstatic, I'm grateful and I'm glad to see the court recognize marijuana as a medical application," he said outside the court Monday. The decision is an "enormous victory," for the medicinal marijuana movement which maintains pot can ease nausea and stimulate appetites in people who suffer from symptoms of epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, AIDS, and other diseases, said Harnett. Although demands placed on the federal government refer only to medicinal use of marijuana, all Ontarians could be allowed to smoke pot in 12 months if nothing is done, said Alan Young, an Osgoode Hall law professor. "The whole (marijuana) law is tainted by the failure of Parliament to have meaningful process whereby people can use the illicit substance as medicine." If Ottawa fails to change the law - as was the case after the Supreme Court of Canada in 1986 struck down a criminal ban on abortion - marijuana possession will be legal in Ontario. "If (Parliament) doesn't amend the law and rectify the problem . . . everyone will be entitled to smoke marijuana legally within the next 12 months," said Young. A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said Monday the decision was being reviewed. The government has 30 days to decide whether they will appeal the decision. Meanwhile an aide to Ontario Attorney General Jim Flaherty said the province doesn't relish the prospect of being left without a law. It is the "hope and expectation" that Ontario "is not left in the lurch," said Bronwen Evans. In another ruling released Monday, the court upheld a lower court decision that prohibited Young's client, Chris Clay, a London, Ont., man from possessing pot for recreational purposes. Clay had been seeking to legalize recreational marijuana, claiming that pot has no harmful side effects and that criminalization of the drug poses a greater danger to the public. The federal government first gave permission for the cultivation and use of marijuana for medical purposes in May, 1999, when Rock granted exemptions to Jim Wakeford of Toronto, and Jean-Charles Pariseau of Vanier, Ont., both of whom have AIDS. Since then, Ottawa has given about 35 Canadians similar exemptions, allowing them to possess, cultivate and use marijuana to treat AIDS-related symptoms. When contacted Monday, Wakeford said he was "encouraged," by the Ontario court's decision. "This is encouraging and I hope it will help me and other people," he said.
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