It was always clear that many hurdles will have to be jumped before legal marijuana can become a reality in Canada.

Pot advocates won’t be too pleased with the latest one.

Ottawa, which recently struck a marijuana task force led by former deputy prime minister Anne McLellan, is sending strong signals legalized pot will be so strictly controlled that homegrown weed (even for medical purposes) may remain an illegal substance.

For advocates, this will come as surprising and unwelcome news.

Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott says the government wants to treat pot like tobacco. She may or may not be aware, however, that it is actually legal to grow your own personal-use tobacco in small amounts in Ontario.

Liberal MPP Bill Blair, justifying a heavy-handed approach, told the Toronto Star last week: “Unlike (growing) tomatoes, (marijuana) is a substance that poses … significant … social and health harms and risks to Canadians … the science is overwhelmingly clear that marijuana is not a benign substance.”

On that basis, it doesn’t exactly sound like something that should be legal, does it?

Except that doctors are prescribing it for glaucoma, anxiety, pain relief, muscle spasms caused by MS, nausea, arthritis discomfort, Crohn’s disease and more.

And we all know recreational use is widespread. A 2015 survey showed 20 per cent of Canadians indulge and another 10 per cent will light up once it appears in stores.

A Conservative attempt to prevent medical users from growing their own pot has already been tossed out by the courts. It stands to reason then that preventing non-medical users of a legal substance from growing their own plants could amount to discrimination. Perhaps that is the wrench in the gears.