A Federal Court judge in Vancouver has issued an injunction against thefederal  government’s plans to end the practice of growing medical marijuana at home.

Judge Michael Manson granted an application from a group of medical marijuana patients, who asked for a temporary injunction to preserve the status quo until a constitutional challenge of the new system can be heard.

Federal rules were set to eliminate 30,000 licences for homegrown pot on April 1 in favour of commercial production of what the feds say would be “quality-controlled” marijuana.

“I am very stressed about the plan to take away my ability to produce my medicine,” plaintiff Neil Allard said in his affidavit.

Patients who are currently licensed to grow their own pot will be permitted to continue producing the drug when new regulations take effect on April 1.

The decision represents a major blow to the Conservative government’s attempt to overhaul this country’s medical marijuana system, which it says is rife with problems ranging from unsafe grow-ops to infiltration by criminals.