How does Medical Cannabis Work in Canada?
In this article we will explain how medical cannabis works in Canada in a simple and straight forward way that is easy to understand.
If you have additional questions, please reach out to us by using the comment area below this article.
There are a few different ways that you can access medical cannabis in Canada, yet all of them require you to meet with your health care practitioner to discuss whether or not you are eligible to use medical cannabis for the symptoms of your specific ailment(s).
The Health Canada website that was created by the Government of Canada to explain the rules and regulations that control access to medical cannabis is not the easiest to navigate or understand. This being the case, we have clarified how medical cannabis works in Canada with this article.
First Step - Talk to your Healthcare Practitioner
The first thing you need to do is to setup an appointment with your healthcare practitioner or use a cannabis clinic.
As per the Health Canada website:
A health care practitioner includes medical practitioners and nurse practitioners.
During this appointment you will discuss with the health care practitioner whether or not medical cannabis is a viable option for you. Not everyone is a good candidate for medical cannabis and some people are more at risk than others.
The best advice we have is to be well prepared for the visit and to do so we invite you to read our Kanteeva article “10 Questions to Ask Your Healthcare Practitioner.”
Once you have met with your health practitioner, you may be given a medical document, similar to a prescription but more in-depth, authorizing you to use cannabis for medical purposes.
This medical document, or a similar one provided by your healthcare practitioner, will enable you to order medical cannabis from Licensed Producers. It can also be used if you want to register with Health Canada to grow your own medical cannabis or to designate someone to grow for you.
The original Medical Document is necessary to have on hand so you can register to access and/or grow medical cannabis in Canada. The only other option without this document on hand, is to use the recreational cannabis system for your medical cannabis needs.
If you are not given a “medical document,” you can always set up an appointment with a cannabis clinic. Some of these clinics offer remote consultations by phone or by online virtual appointments.
If you have questions please comment below the article and we will respond back to you.
Second Step - Decide how you want to Access your Medical Cannabis
There are five options when it comes to accessing cannabis for medical purposes in Canada:
- Purchase from Licensed Producers
- Purchase from a Registered 3rd Party
- Grow your Own
- Designate Someone to Grow for You
- Buy Your Cannabis from Canada’s Recreational Marketplace
Purchase Medical Cannabis from Licensed Producers
Option one is to buy your medical cannabis from Licensed Producers.
To do this you will need to register with them by using your original medical cannabis document and other information that they request.
Your healthcare practitioner may also be able to help you send the appropriate documents and information if you already know which LP you want to use.
Typically the registration and verification process will only take a few days and then you will be able to order your medical cannabis products online, by phone or by mail order.
All products will be delivered by post.
The medical cannabis laws in Canada have changed many times throughout history and will change many times in the future. Recently, Health Canada has made some progressive changes to the medical cannabis system that will enable patients to have lower switching costs and other benefits which are below.
As per the Health Canada website:
Under the new regulations there are improvements for patients accessing cannabis for medical purposes from federally licensed sellers.
These improvements include:
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the ability to request the return of their medical document from a federally licensed seller
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the ability to request the transfer of their medical document to a different federally licensed seller
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that the effective date on the registration document will be the day it is issued, rather than the day the medical document was signed by the health care provider
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removal of the 30-day limitation period for buying cannabis from a federally licensed seller (to ensure no break in a patient's supply)
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a broader range of permitted products
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access to an increasing number of licensed producers and sellers (Health Canada has licensed more producers in the last year than in the 4 previous years combined). The increasing number of licensed producers enables:
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competitive prices
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more supply of cannabis
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an increased availability of a range of products
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You are now able to use one "prescription" to register with multiple licensed producers and you can also request to have your prescription sent back to you!
You can also utilize third party companies that give you access to more than one LP; we will discuss this more in the next section.
Before these changes, one “prescription” typically equalled access to only one LP, which made the costs of switching higher and the process more difficult for patients when they wanted to try another company or a different cannabis product. In essence, you had to get a new “prescription” from your healthcare practitioner before being able to register with another LP.
This did not make sense so this policy was changed recently to help accommodate medical cannabis patients and their needs.
Have you purchased medical cannabis products from an LP? Have you purchased medical cannabis products from multiple LPs?
Please share your experiences by commenting below and join the Kanteeva community.
Purchase from Registered 3rd Parties
Recently, Health Canada has allowed registered third party retailers to sell LP products to medical cannabis patients.
The process works in a similar way to the LP process above, yet you are now able to order from multiple LPs in one place.
An example of one of these third party retailers is Shoppers. Another third party retailer that is also doing this is CannMart.
For more details, contact Shoppers or CannMart.
Grow your Own Medicine
You can register with Health Canada to grow your own medical cannabis!
Health Canada does have a few requirements before you are allowed to grow your own medicine. As per the Health Canada website, these requirements are:
- ordinarily live in Canada
- be 18 years of age or older
- attest that you have not been convicted of a cannabis related offense
- not be registered more than once at any time
If you are given the “green light” by Health Canada to grow your own medical cannabis then you may be able to also produce for one other person if they designate you. We will discuss this in the next section.
You will receive a registration certificate from Health Canada if your application is granted. As per the Health Canada website, these details will be on the certificate:
- number of marijuana plants you are allowed to grow
- amount of dried marijuana you are allowed to store
- the place where you are allowed to produce marijuana plants (production site)
- the place where you are allowed store cannabis (storage site)
Health Canada limits the amount of cannabis plants you are able to grow and they have this calculator that can help guide you through the conversion process. Basically the number of prescribed grams per day converts into a number or indoor or outdoor plants that the governments use to determine how many plants for medical purposes you are able to grow.
For example, if you were given a prescription for 3 grams per day then the calculator says you can grow 15 indoor plants or 6 outdoor plants.
If you do not want to apply to grow medical cannabis, you may be able to grow 4 plants recreationally to meet your needs. For more information on this please read our Kanteeva article “How does Recreational Cannabis Work in Canada?”
Growing your own medical cannabis is a great option for many patients in Canada and many attest that they grow the best medicine themselves!
Designate Someone to Grow for You
Using a similar process that was discussed in the above section, you are able to register with Health Canada and have someone else other than yourself grow for you.
You and this designated person must meet a list of requirements that can be found here on the Health Canada website.
Once you are given the go ahead to grow for yourself, you may also be able to grow for someone else if they designate you. For more details, visit the Health Canada website.
Buy Your Cannabis from Canada’s Recreational Marketplace
If you decide not to use any of the above mentioned access points, then there is one other option; you can purchase your cannabis from a recreational source. You must be of the legal age limit in the province or territory to purchase recreational cannabis.
The recreational carrying limits are different than medical carrying limits so make sure that you register with Health Canada if you decide to carry more than the recreational limit of dried cannabis, or the equivalent in other forms, and are not registered with an LP, third party retailer or registered with Health Canada in the grow your own/designated grower system.
To learn more about how recreational cannabis works, we invite you to read our article “How does Recreational Cannabis work in Canada?”
What Types of Medical Cannabis Products are Available from LPs?
The medical cannabis products that are currently available for sale in Canada include:
- Dried Cannabis Flower (no greater than 30% THC)
- Pre-rolls (or “joints”)
- Cannabis oils (no more than 3% THC by volume) including oral sprays
- Fresh Cannabis
- Cannabis Seeds
- Cannabis Plants
- Edibles including beverages
- Cannabis extracts including vape pens
- Cannabis topicals
On October 17th, 2019 the Government of Canada updated the Cannabis Act and allowed for the legal production and sale of edibles, extracts and topicals.
On October 17, 2019, the Cannabis Regulations were updated to establish rules for the legal production and sale of three new classes of cannabis:
- edible cannabis
- cannabis extracts
- cannabis topicals
As required by the Cannabis Act, the amended regulations came into force on October 17, 2019. However, it will take time, after that date, before new cannabis products become available for purchase. Adult consumers can expect new products to appear gradually in physical and online stores beginning in mid-December 2019.
Possession of Medical Cannabis
As per the Health Canada website:
Public possession limits remain the same for authorized patients who are registered with a federally licensed seller or with Health Canada:
- The lesser of 150 grams or a 30-day supply of dried cannabis (or the equivalent in cannabis product) in addition to the 30 grams allowed for non-medical purposes
Those authorized to access cannabis for medical purposes must be prepared to show they are legally allowed to possess more than 30 grams (or equivalent) in public, if requested by law enforcement. This can be done by showing:
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Their registration document issued by a federally licensed seller
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Their registration certificate issued by Health Canada for personal or designated production
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Their registration certificate issued by Health Canada for possession only
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This new registration for possession only is available to meet the needs of those choosing to access their supply of cannabis for medical purposes exclusively from a provincial or territorial authorized retail outlet or authorized online sales platform
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Many patients are under the assumption that their medical document is enough to prove their medical cannabis carrying limit but unfortunately this is not true.
Please be careful and pay attention to the federal rules and regulations that govern medical cannabis in Canada so you are not caught in a vulnerable position by the law.
For more information please visit Health Canada's website.
Your Medical Cannabis Medical Document - Keeping it Valid
Your health care practitioner can provide you with a medical document that will last for a maximum of one year and then you must go through the process again.
Due to recent changes by Health Canada to improve the system:
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the effective date on the registration document is the day it is issued, rather than the day the medical document was signed by the health care provider
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the registration remains valid until a renewal decision has been made, if Health Canada has received a renewal application before your certificate expires
Your healthcare practitioner may also authorize you to access medical cannabis for a lesser time period so you would have to have it renewed more than once per year.
Pay attention to the dates so you are not left without access to your medical cannabis.
Final Thoughts
There have been many changes to medical cannabis laws of Canada since cannabis was outlawed officially in 1923 and there will be many more changes happening in the future.
We want to keep you informed so check back for updates or join our Kanteeva community to learn more.
We hope this article was helpful and informative.
Have you been authorized to access cannabis for medical purposes in Canada? How was your experience? What route did you go?
We would love to hear from you! Please make comments or ask questions below.
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