Ruling on Home Grows a Setback for Canadian Cultivation Companies

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A Canadian federal appeals court unanimously upheld an injunction that lets patients continue growing medical marijuana at home, which will dampen the market for licensed cannabis producers in the country.

The injunction allows home cultivation at least until the court decides a case that involves whether to overhaul a rule that prohibits personal grows, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. The court will hear the case in February.

The stakes are high from a business perspective: Allowing patients to grow their own cannabis means fewer potential customers for licensed growers.

Under Canada’s initial medical marijuana law, patients could cultivate marijuana in their homes, designate someone to grow it for them or purchase it directly from Health Canada.

But rules were introduced earlier this year that prohibit personal grows and establish a system of federally licensed commercial producers, of which there are now 15 in the country. That sparked a backlash among medical marijuana patients, who asked for the injunction so they could continue growing their own marijuana at least until the February court hearing, according to the CBC.