Canadian medical marijuana patients will be allowed to grow “limited amounts” of cannabis according to the Health Canada’s new program, called the Accessing Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (AMMPR). On August 11, the Canadian government held a teleconference to introduce the new regulations, which were drafted in response to a court decision ordering the Canadian government to revise its medical marijuana laws to allow patients the right to grow their medicine at home.

Patients initially had the right to grow cannabis at home under the country’s original rules – the Medical Marihuana Access Regulations (MMAR), which came into effect in 2001. But that provision was removed by the Conservative government of former Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2013 over concerns that home cultivation was unsafe.

The government claimed that home growing could cause fires, contaminate cannabis with mould or entice burglars to rob patients. The decision sparked a legal battle between the government and patients that went on until February 2016, when Federal Justice Michael Phelan ruled in favor of the home growers.

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