Canadian Medical Marijuana Group Sues Federal Government for Right to Grow at Home

Canada’s Medical Marijuana Alliance and Resources (MMAR) has filed a federal class action suit against the Canadian government to repeal revisions to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act that would eliminate personal marijuana growers from growing on a paired person for person basis.

The new revisions attempt to eliminate personal gardens in favor of a centralized growth outlet that would raise the cost of medical marijuana from $2 to an estimated $8 a gram. This fourfold increase in price will affect all medical marijuana patients in that the new program will result in considerable out of pocket expenses as well as a decrease in supply of the individual strains of marijuana that have been paired with those receiving their medicine from dedicated person to person growers.

The MMAR case will be heard in court this month. MMAR lawyer John Conroy QC of Conroy & Company will lead the push to repeal the changes to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, alleging that the new regulations are a breach of Constitutional Rights.

The right to access to life saving or quality of life medications is a right all Canadians have. The fact that the Federal Government of Canada still sees marijuana as a harmful controlled drug is in conflict with its legally accepted use as a medication, as there are many positive, studied benefits of the use of marijuana for everything from epilepsy to chronic pain.

Another bone of contention is the possible change from vaporized marijuana buds to THC pills or capsules. Most medicinal marijuana patients prefer to smoke their medicine, stating the lower efficacy of pills compared with the instant relief of a smoked medication.