On March 24, 2016, Health Minister Jane Philpott released a statement announcing that the government will not appeal a Federal Court ruling in Allard that found that the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (“MMPR”) regime, made pursuant to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, infringes section 7 Charter rights to liberty and security by unjustifiably restricting access to medical marijuana. The Court found that, under the single source system of a licensed producer, there is no guarantee that required marijuana will be available when needed at an acceptable price level due to the MMPR structure and market characteristics. According to the Court, limiting patients to government-approved contractors and eliminating the ability to grow one’s own marijuana or to engage one’s own designated producer is not tenable.

Given that liberty and security interests are engaged, the Court held that MMPR regulatory restrictions, including prohibitions against plant growth by patients or their delegates, are...