Quebec, Rulings, Supreme Court of Canada
comment 1

SCC to hear challenge over Quebec’s ban on homegrown cannabis

There may yet be hope for Quebec homegrown cannabis growers.

The Supreme Court of Canada will examine the constitutionality of a provincial ban that forbids the growing of recreational cannabis for personal use. No date has been set for a hearing.

The Quebec Court of Appeal overturned a lower court ruling last year that held that Quebec’s prohibition on home cultivation was unconstitutional.

The Appeal Court concluded instead that the province was acting within its jurisdiction over property and civil rights when it decided to regulate the market by creating a state monopoly to minimize the “harmful” effects of cannabis on health.

The Appeal Court found that the Quebec’s prohibition on home cultivation was intended to deal with harmful effects of cannabis and to “protect the health and security” of the population, particularly of youth, by creating a monopoly with a mandate to control “as well as possible” the consumption of a “substance deemed to be a risk.”

Quebec and Manitoba are the only provinces that still have in place a strict regulatory approach that bans residents from growing recreational cannabis at home in spite of the federal law, Cannabis Act, allowing individuals to grow up to four plants.


Read about Quebec Appeal Court’s decision here.

1 Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *