Canada lifts 'arbitrary' ban on people growing their own medical marijuana

'The access restrictions did not prove to reduce risk to health and safety or to improve access to marihuana - the purported objectives of the regulation'

The court said the ruling had no bearing on the legalisation of marijuana for recreational use (Getty)

A Canadian federal court judge has struck down the previous government’s ban on patients growing their own medical marijuana.

The court ruled that regulations introduced in 2013 by the Conservative Party of Canada went against patients’ constitutional rights.

The objective of the ban was supposedly to keep patients safe – the government has expressed health concerns over home-growing – but the court ruled that there was no advantage to making patients order their marijuana through the government system.

Judge Michael Phelan said that the ban “does not bear a connection to the objective of the legislation, and is therefore arbitrary”.

He said: “The access restrictions did not prove to reduce risk to health and safety or to improve access to marihuana - the purported objectives of the regulation.”

The court stressed that this ruling had nothing to do with the legalising of marijuana for recreational use, but only about access for medical purposes to those who “are ill, including those who are suffering severe pain”.

The decision has been suspended for six months in order for the government time to respond to the declaration.

A Canadian federal court judge has struck down the previous government’s ban on patients growing their own medical marijuana.

The court ruled that regulations introduced in 2013 by the Conservative Party of Canada went against patients’ constitutional rights.

The objective of the ban was supposedly to keep patients safe – the government expressed health concerns over home-growing – but the court ruled that there was no advantage to making patients order their marijuana through the government system.