Supreme Court of Canada upholds Quebec's right to ban home-grown cannabis

The Supreme Court of Canada confirmed last Friday that Quebec has the right to prohibit Quebecers from growing their own cannabis at home, ruling that the province's ban on possessing and growing cannabis plants for personal use is constitutional.

This historic case, which has been making its way into the courts since 2019 when raised by Quebec resident Janick Murray-Hall, argued that such a ban was unconstitutional.

The Quebec government had argued that it had the right to ban home cannabis cultivation altogether, and that it was doing so to protect young people. The Supreme Court rejected the appeal of this decision., concluded that the provincial government's ban on growing cannabis at home did not conflict with federal law, which allows Canadians to grow up to four plants at home.

Although Mr. Murray-Hall's legal team initially won the case, the provincial government appealed and, in September 2021, the Quebec Court of Appeal overturned this decision, The Supreme Court ruled that the province did in fact have the right to prohibit the cultivation of cannabis at home. His legal team appealed this decision, which led to the final Supreme Court ruling.

Federal regulations, however, allow Canadians to grow up to four cannabis plants per household. Provinces are authorized to impose restrictions on this authorization, for example by limiting the number of plants and/or requiring that they be grown in a secure area or out of public view.

However, during the development of the cannabis law and regulations, the federal government argued that limiting the number of cannabis plants to zero, or banning them altogether, would not fall within its jurisdiction.

The same applies to the federal age limit of 18 for access to alcohol, which can be raised by the provinces. All Canadian provinces and territories, with the exception of Alberta and Quebec, have set the age of access to cannabis at 19. Alberta has set the age at 18. and Quebec at 21.

Quebec and Manitoba were the only two provinces to challenge this authority, banning home growing altogether. This decision could have an impact on another case in Manitoba aimed at overturning the province's own ban.

The Court ruling has been made unanimously.

The ban on self-cultivation of cannabis in Quebec does not apply to people authorized to grow cannabis for medical purposes. Caught growing cannabis at home without a medical license is punishable by a fine of up to $750.

Jack Lloyd, lead counsel in a similar case challenging Manitoba's ban on home-grown cannabis, says he's disappointed by the Supreme Court's decision on the Quebec issue, but doesn't think it weakens his case.

«While we're disappointed for Quebec, we don't think the Manitoba law is valid simply because of this decision.»

«Quebec's objective was to strengthen its provincial monopoly and sales, as in R. v. Comeau, he continues. «Manitoba's objective is to issue criminal sanctions against cannabis growers, which is a purely criminal matter and therefore not within the jurisdiction of the Province of Manitoba.»

The Supreme Court of Canada rules that Quebec's ban on possessing and cultivating cannabis plants for personal purposes is constitutional. Read our plain-language summary here: https://t.co/55PC0fbhdS #cdnlaw pic.twitter.com/zzV2fgyOYS

- Supreme Court of Canada (@SCC_eng) April 14, 2023