From the desk of John Conroy;
We have just been notified that Mr. Justice Phelan of the Federal Court Trial Division will be rendering his decision in the Allard case on Wednesday morning at 9 AM.
Allard v Queen is a constitutional case that will determine whether medical cannabis patients who were given the option to grow for themselves will be allowed to continue. The former federal government tried to eradicate this market, but the patients sued and were awarded an injunction.
Justice Phelan’s decision will affect the 30,000+ medical cannabis patients licensed under the Marihuana Medical Access Regulations (MMAR).
The decision will not be read in Court. The lawyers and the Crown will get a copy at 8am and go public with the decision at 9am PST.
Once the decision is known, John Conroy, Kirk Tousaw and the other lawyers will be ready to launch an appeal if the plaintiffs lose. That is, they will be ready to seek a new injunction in the Court of Appeal.
If the decision is in the Crown’s favour, it is not yet known whether growers will have to shut down right away or whether there will be a grace period. The Crown argued for an immediate shut-down.
Kirk Tousaw wrote on his Facebook wall that, “A win could mean lots of things. John and I will do our best to explain the decision after reading it but keep in mind that it is likely to be very long and detailed and will need lots of analysis.”
More to come as the story develops.