The Canadian government has failed in its latest attempt to prevent medical marijuana users from growing pot at home. On Monday (December 15) the Federal Court of Appeal upheld an injunction that exempted patients from a massive overhaul of the system.
New rules introduced this year prohibited home growing and shifted production to commercial operations.
This past spring a Federal Court judge issued an injunction that allowed patients who were authorized to grow and possess marijuana under the old system to continue to do so until their case is resolved.
The federal government appealed the decision, but the Federal Court of Appeal upheld the injunction, allowing a court challenge of the government changes to continue.
The appeal judges agreed with the Federal Court judge that the patients could “suffer irreparable harm” because of the cost of commercially produced medical marijuana, something the government disagreed with.
“It’s very significant,” Kirk Tousaw, a lawyer for the four plaintiffs in the case, said in an interview.
“The big fear was that if the government’s appeal was successful, then all of these people who have been protected by the injunction could very well turn into criminals overnight.”
More information:
Federal Court of Appeal decision reasons (pdf) – here
National Post – Court upholds injunction that allows medical marijuana patients to grow at home – here
Globe and Mail – Potpreneurs rush to cash in on the new market – here
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