On Wednesday, a court in Canada struck down federal rules that governed the cultivation and distribution of medical marijuana. The court ruled that Canadians now had a right to grow the plant for themselves at home and not have to worry about breaking the constitution.
Reported by The Globe and Mail, the Canadian federal court has abolished the 2014 restrictions set on individuals being able to access medical marijuana. The restriction was first implemented by the former Tory administration that forced each patient to make their prescription marijuana purchase only from licensed growers. According to feds, the restriction was "overbroad" and "arbitrary."
The court noted that by allowing individuals to purchase their medicinal marijuana needs from a licensed producer, there was no guarantee of the quality, quantity and strain available. Moreover, the feds could not guarantee that this would be made available at an acceptable price. Judge Michael Phelan added that "the access restrictions did not prove to reduce risk to health and safety or to improve access to marijuana - the purported objectives of the regulation."
Yahoo News reported that Phelan had decided to suspend the restriction ruling for another six months, so that the government would have enough time to draft new rules. In the meantime, the judge has extended an injunction that permitted licensed individuals prior to the 2014 regulation to continue growing their own supply of the plant needed for medical use.
Previously, the home cultivation of medical marijuana was banned in favor of large commercial greenhouses that operated in Canada. To date, commercial growers have 29 licenses; some of which hold more than one.
Business Insider has shared that under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal style of government, a new practice for the use of recreational marijuana is still being sorted out. This has kept Trudeau true to his word of being the first G7 nation to legalize it during a pledge he made last year during the legislative elections.
