Canadian medical marijuana users have right to grow, federal judge rules
Source: Reuters
Canadian medical marijuana users have right to grow, federal judge rules
Reuters in Vancouver
Wednesday 24 February 2016 19.08 GMT
A Canadian federal court judge has ruled that medical marijuana patients have the constitutional right to grow their own cannabis, striking down a ban introduced by the countrys previous Conservative government.
The court suspended its decision for six months to give Ottawa time to respond.
A group of British Columbia residents took Canada to court in 2013, arguing a new law requiring medical marijuana patients to buy their cannabis from licensed producers, instead of growing their own, was unconstitutional.
They said marijuana grown under the government system was too expensive and did not allow them to control the strains and dosages of their treatment.
The government, which overhauled its medical marijuana program in 2013, argued that its mail-order system was safer for both the patient and other Canadians, who could be negatively impacted by unsafe home grow-ops.
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http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/24/canada-medical-marijuana-patients-grow-ruling