Federal changes preventing medical marijuana growing unconstitutional: lawyer

VANCOUVER – A lawyer for a group of medical marijuana patients has told a Federal Court judge that stopping his clients from growing their own pot at the end of this month would violate their charter rights.

John Conroy is asking for a temporary injunction to prevent the new Federal government regulations from taking effect on April 1 until the court can make a decision on his constitutional challenge.

Beginning next month, the government plans to allow only select commercial producers to grow marijuana for medical use, and Health Canada says anyone else growing marijuana after that is breaking the law.

Conroy says the federal government brought in the current medical marijuana regime more than a decade ago after a court order, and a series of subsequent cases have reaffirmed the right for patients to grow their own marijuana.

Conroy says the new regime is expected to cause prices to rise and some patients have found specific strains that work for them would no longer be available.

He says the new law would effectively force patients to choose between their medicine and potential jail time, since growing for personal use would be illegal under the new regulations.