Federal Court Strikes Down Canada’s Ban on Home Cultivation of Medical Cannabis
A Canadian Federal Court ruled Wednesday that the nation’s ban on medical cannabis patients growing their own medicine is unconstitutional. The court gave the Canadian government six months to establish regulations for legal cannabis cultivation.
“The evidence at trial failed to show that public safety will be advanced in any significant way by the removal of the ability to lawfully and safely continue to personally produce medical cannabis,” Judge Michael L. Phelan wrote in the decision. Phelan argued that the current law prohibiting cultivation restricted patients’ liberty by leaving them under the threat of criminal prosecution; he also argued that the law is not supported by compelling evidence.
The court decision is likely to revert Canada’s cannabis laws back to what they were before the ban was imposed, when medical cannabis patients received a license from the state to grow their own medicine.
We’ll keep you up-to-date as Canada’s government attempts to comply with this ruling.
