British Columbia

Lawyer wants more patients to be able to grow their own pot

A lawyer is asking a Federal Court judge to expand a ruling that found patients in Canada have the right to grow their own medical marijuana.

John Conroy argued the case that brought down the ban for some in February

A lawyer who successfully argued the case to strike down a ban on patients growing their own medical marijuana will return to court to ask that more people be allowed to grow their own pot. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

A lawyer is asking a Federal Court judge to expand a ruling that found patients in Canada have the right to grow their own medical marijuana.

John Conroy represented the plaintiffs in the constitutional challenge and he will be in court Friday with a motion to reconsider and vary the judge's order.

Justice Michael Phelan struck down legislation in February that banned patients from growing their own cannabis and required them to buy pot from licensed producers.

The legislation, brought in by the previous Conservative government, replaced a 2001 law that allowed patients to obtain licences from Health Canada to grow their own marijuana or find designated growers.

The judge gave the Liberal government six months to come up with a new law, and in the meantime extended an injunction allowing some 28,000 licence-holders to continue growing or possessing cannabis.

But Conroy wants the judge to allow everyone who was enrolled in the old program in the final year of its existence the immediate right to grow their own marijuana, not just those covered by the injunction.