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Abbotsford lawyer seeking exemption for patients from new pot rules

John Conroy will argue that new laws are unconstitutional
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An Abbotsford lawyer is scheduled to be in a federal court today to seek an exemption to new laws for those who grow medical marijuana in their homes.

Abbotsford lawyer John Conroy is scheduled to be in a federal court in Vancouver today, seeking an exemption to new laws for those who grow medical marijuana in their homes.

On April 1, the new federal laws will go into effect, ending the home production of medical marijuana. Instead, all those using medical marijuana will have to purchase it from large-scale commercial facilities that are being set up around the country.

This has led to concerns from patients, who fear the cost of commercial medical marijuana and the quality of the product they will be able to obtain.

Conroy is seeking an interim injunction for growers, alleging that the laws violate the constitutional rights of medical marijuana patients when they prohibit patients or caregivers from producing their own supplies at homes.

Currently, patients must destroy their own plants before April 1 and send notification to Health Canada by April 30 stating that they've stopped production and destroyed their plants or law enforcement will be notified.