Marijuana advocates say ‘next fight’ is legalizing storefront dispensaries
Justice Michael Phelan gave the federal government six months to rewrite the current regulations
Thursday, February 25, 2016
The federal government should use a court decision ordering it to rewrite the rules on medical marijuana as an opportunity to legalize the storefront sale of such medicine, experts and commercial growers say. A Federal Court judge in British Columbia ruled that patients have a right to grow their own medical marijuana, overturning regulations that forced them to purchase it through federally licensed producers. Justice Michael Phelan said that “dispensaries are at the heart of cannabis access,” and suggested the growth of such illegal storefront shops is connected to the restrictive nature of the current medical marijuana system.