There are legislative differences between recreational and medicinal cannabis. While recreational cannabis is regulated by Provincial legislation and Municipal Bylaws, medicinal cannabis is regulated by the Federal Government through Health Canada.

Please note that:

• The District does not approve or issue licenses for the use, sale or cultivation of medicinal cannabis.
• The District receives notification of the approval or modification of licenses for medicinal cannabis dispensaries but approval from the District is not required for Health Canada to issue a license.
• The District is not notified when an individual receives a license to cultivate medicinal cannabis for their own personal use or is assigned a medicinal cannabis cultivation license on behalf of another person.
• Health Canada will share with municipalities aggregate information about the number of registrations for personal-use production or production by a designated person identifying an address for production in a given town or city, as well as a breakdown by postal code where there is sufficient aggregate data.
• Any information shared with municipalities will be done so in accordance with the Privacy Act.
• The ACMPR permits Health Canada to share personal information about registered and designated persons with law enforcement for the purposes of investigations, such as the names of registered and designated persons, the locations where these individuals are permitted to produce and store cannabis and the status of their registration.

With the enactment of the Federal Cannabis Act additional changes were made for the use and production of medicinal cannabis. The Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulation (MMPR) and Medical Marijuana Access Regulations (MMAR) have been replaced with the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulation (ACMPR).

The ACMPR is comprised of 4 parts:

Part 1 is similar to the framework under the MMPR setting out regulations for commercial production by licensed producers.
Part 2 is similar to the framework under the MMAR setting out provisions for individuals to produce a limited amount of cannabis for their own medical purposes or to designate someone to produce it for them.
Parts 3 & 4 include:

• Transitional provisions, which mainly relate to the continuation of MMPR activities by licensed producers
• Consequential amendments to other regulations that referenced the MMPR (i.e., Narcotic Control Regulations, New Classes of Practitioners Regulations) to update definitions and broaden the scope of allowable products beyond dried cannabis.
• Provisions repealing the MMPR and setting the ACMPR into force on August 24, 2016

Health Canada’s Role

Health Canada is responsible to administer the ACMPR and is charged with 2 main roles:

1. Licensing and overseeing the commercial industry; and
2. Registering individuals to produce a limited amount of cannabis for their own medical purposes (or assign another individual to do it for them).

In administering the regulations, Health Canada officials will work with a range of groups including law enforcement, municipalities and provincial health officials.

Click the links below for more information on the ACMPR:

Understanding the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulation
Information for Municipalities - Medical Use of Cannabis