MONTREAL -- An immigration hearing for an American man known as the "Godfather of Grass" has been postponed until later this month for medical reasons.

John Robert Boone, 73, will remain in detention in Montreal pending an admissibility hearing that will determine whether he stays in Canada.

Boone watched Friday's Immigration and Refugee Board procedure by video conference as his lawyer requested and was granted a deferral until Jan 26.

Lawyer Perla Abou-Jaoude said the postponement will allow Boone to attend a medical appointment next week.

Boone had been on the run for eight years when he was arrested in December, several months after Montreal police opened an investigation at the request of U.S. officials.

The U.S. Marshals Service says authorities had been looking for Boone since seizing 2,400 marijuana plants on his Kentucky farm in 2008.