COURT RULES POT LAW UNCONSTITUTIONAL

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 yesterday 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 that 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 eliminated 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.