Canada Will Allow Medical Patients to Grow Cannabis
Finally, medical patients in Canada will be able to grow their own cannabis instead of only purchasing from approved dispensaries.
According to Reuters, patients will be able to grow their own limited amount of plants or have a designated caregiver, similar to medical systems in California and Colorado. The federal courts in Canada struck down the ban on the medical patient’s right to grow the plant, and gave the government six months to comply with this new law.
Health Canada, the official suppliers of medical cannabis in the country, made it clear that medical cannabis will still be available in nationally-sanctioned dispensaries for those who choose not to grow their own and would prefer to simply purchase it. They also restated that illegal clubs selling without a license are breaking the law, and are not in the clear now just because users can grow their own.
“These operations are illegally supplied, and provide products that are unregulated and may be unsafe. Illegal storefront distribution and sale of marijuana in Canada are subject to law enforcement action,” Health Canada explained in their official statement.
The new liberal government in Canada overturned the old government’s conservative ruling about cannabis because they deemed it arbitrary, feeling there is no real reason that cannabis must only be grown in government facilities instead of at home by patients. The national plan looked to state plans in America to see what works for legal and medical cannabis, and determined that allowing patients to grow their own would be beneficial for residents.
This decision came around the same time that the U.S. decided not to re-schedule cannabis as a Schedule II substance. Although medical patients are celebrating, it has caused prices to fall in the Canadian stock market.
These new changes to Canadian law will go into effect in by the Spring of 2017.
