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Ontario court strikes down pot laws

Ruling could lead the way to legalization in Ontario

The Ontario Superior court struck down two parts of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act on Monday that deal with the production and possession of marijuana. The court ruled that sections 4 and 7 of the act were “constitutionally invalid and of no force and effect.” If the Ontario government does not respond within 90 days with a delay or re-regulation of marijuana, it will effectively be legalized in the province. Justice Donald Taliano’s ruling stemmed from the constitutional challenge of Matthew Mernagh, a marijuana advocate who suffers from fibromyalgia, scoliosis, seizures and depression, and had been unable to get a doctor to sign off on a medical marijuana license. Mernagh had been charged for possession and production of marijuana on several occasions, but Justice Taliano stayed the charges in his decision. If left unchallenged by the Ontario government, the ruling could affect drug laws in the rest of Canada.

National Post

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