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.