People who use medical marijuana will soon be able to grow their own as new federal regulations for the drug come into effect.

The Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations come into force on August 24, six months after a judge struck down the Marihuana Medical Access Regulations implemented under the Harper government.

The previous law required patients to fill their marijuana prescription at one of 34 authorized producers, mostly in Ontario.

Come the end of the month, those producers will still be legal providers of marijuana, but those with prescriptions will also be allowed to apply to grow their own, or to designate a producer.

It's good news for people like Conrad Dilorenzo, who has been managing his Crohn's disease with marijuana for the past three years. He’s one of a growing number of Canadians who have turned to pot to legally manage their disease or pain.

“They were not able to control it but because of cannabis they were able to control it,” Dilorenzo said.

Adam Greenblatt, executive director of Santé Cannabis, approves of the new regulations.

"The more choice the better for patients," he said.

Greenblatt said one advantage for people will be cost, as filling a prescription can cost up to $400 per month.

"You know insurance companies do not pay for the stuff yet. Affordability is the biggest barrier to access in the medical marijuana space," said Greenblatt.

Greenblatt said that the amount people can grow will be small. 

"For each gram per day that a patient consumes they're allowed to grow five plants indoors or two plants outdoors," he said. 

And patients who are not healthy enough can designate someone else to grow it for them, as long as they don’t have a record for a drug offence.

"It creates a very grey area in the law especially when a caregiver can grow on behalf of someone else," said Ian Culbert of the Canadian Public Health Association.  

The Cannabis Canada Association said it supports the regulation change, but is concerned that home growers will run into problems with security, mould, or other problems.

The CCA said it is also worried about low-quality marijuana being sold illegally.

Other notable changes under the new regulations are:

  • New labelling requirements for cannabis oil to include the carrier oil used and for cannabis oil in dosage form to include the number of capsules or units in the container, the net weight, and the volume of each capsule or unit
  • New labelling requirements for fresh and dried marijuana to include the percentage of THC and CBD that could be yielded, taking into the account the potential to convert THC-Acid and CBD-Acid into THC and CBD
  • Provisions enabling individuals to receive their 30-day supply of cannabis within each 30-day period beginning on the date of the first sale
  • Modifying that the accuracy of weight and volume of products in packages must now be between 95% and 105%, as opposed to between 95% and 101%
  • Requiring all analytical testing to be done using validated methods (e.g., contaminants, disintegration, and solvent residue testing) and requiring disintegration testing for cannabis oil in capsules or similar dosage forms
  • Requiring notification to the Minister of Health prior to commencing a recall

The Libeal government has promised to legalize marijuana next year. 

Anne McLellan is the head of a nine-person task force examining how best to do so.