Question Period Note: Medical Access Framework

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• Our Government is committed to ensuring reasonable access to cannabis for medical purposes for individuals who have the support of their health care practitioner.
• Health Canada is working to reduce the potential for abuse in partnership with the provincial and territorial regulators of health care professionals, law enforcement and municipalities.
• The Government continues to actively monitor the medical access program and has committed to evaluate the framework within 5 years of the coming into force of the Cannabis Act.
IF PRESSED ON LIMITED NUMBER OF AUTHORIZED HEALTH PRODUCTS CONTAINING CANNABIS (86 words)
• Authorized health products containing cannabis, such as Sativex, remain subject to appropriate requirements of both the Cannabis Act and the Food and Drugs Act, therefore requiring oversight by a health care practitioner for use.
• In November 2020, Health Canada established a Science Advisory Committee to provide the government with independent scientific advice on safety, efficacy, and quality standards for these products.
• The scientific advice from this committee will help inform a potential pathway for health products containing cannabis that would not require oversight from a doctor.
IF PRESSED ON COMPLAINTS REGARDING PERSONAL PRODUCTION WITH A HEALTH CANADA AUTHORIZATION (84 words)
• All persons authorized to produce cannabis for their own medical purposes must abide by all federal, provincial/territorial and municipal laws and operate within the limits set out in their registration.
• Under the Cannabis Regulations, Health Canada has the power to refuse to register or revoke a registration to protect public health or public safety.
• Health Canada takes immediate action when there is strong evidence of non-compliance with the regulations and proactively shares data with provincial and territorial medical regulatory authorities to support their oversight.
IF PRESSED ON PERSONAL REGISTRATION CERTIFICATES GRANTED TO INDIVIDUALS SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS (118 words)
• Our Government remains committed to ensuring patients have access to cannabis for medical purposes, while providing safeguards to reduce the risk of abuse of the system.
• Health Canada actively supports law enforcement representatives by providing a dedicated service 24 hours a day and seven days a week to confirm which individuals are authorized to possess or produce cannabis for medical purposes and to assist with active investigations.
• When Health Canada learns that law enforcement has taken action against individuals authorized to grow cannabis for medical purposes, the Department reviews that information to determine if compliance and enforcement actions are warranted. This could include revocation of the registration for the personal or designated production of cannabis for medical purposes.
IF PRESSED ON THE CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION’S POSITION THAT THE MEDICAL SYSTEM SHOULD BE ABOLISHED (120 words)
• Successive court decisions have established the right of individuals to have reasonable access to cannabis for medical purposes.
• Determining whether cannabis is appropriate to treat an individual’s symptoms is a decision best made through a discussion with a health care practitioner.
• Health Canada has published a summary of the peer-reviewed scientific and medical literature on the effects, risks and harms of cannabis for medical and non-medical purposes.
• This information can help Canadians and their health care practitioners make informed decisions about the benefits and risks of using cannabis for medical purposes.
• Our Government continues to actively monitor the medical access program and has committed to evaluate the framework within 5 years of the coming into force of the Cannabis Act.

Medical Regime

Health Canada administers the medical access program under the Cannabis Act and the Cannabis Regulations.

As of March 2021, there were more than 290,000 patients registered with federally licensed sellers (Note: these are not always unique individuals as individuals may be registered with more than one licensed seller, provided an original medical document was used with each registration).

As of March 2021, there were more than 39,000 individuals registered with Health Canada for personal and designated production of cannabis for their own medical purposes.

Licensed cannabis producers must pay a federal excise duty when they package cannabis products, including those sold to patients for medical purposes. Federal policies related to excise duties on cannabis fall under the purview of the Minister of Finance.

Authorizations for personal or designated production

Canadians who have been authorized by their health care practitioner can access cannabis for medical purposes by producing cannabis or by designating someone to produce it for them.

Personal and designated production are subject to regulatory requirements, which are designed to ensure that cannabis is consumed only with the approval and under the supervision of an authorized health care practitioner.

Health Canada reviews all applications for personal or designated production to ensure that the regulatory requirements are met. Health Canada also confirms that the health care practitioner is authorized by—and in good standing with—the relevant provincial or territorial regulatory health authority, and that the medical document is an original that has not been altered or falsified.

Once a registration certificate is issued, the personal or designated producer may not produce in excess of the maximum limits outlined in a registration certificate, and may not sell cannabis to any person. Selling cannabis without authorization is a criminal offence.

A maximum of four registrations are permitted per production site. Only the individuals authorized to produce cannabis for their own medical purposes, or the person designated to produce it for them, can tend to the plants.

Health Canada appreciates that, as in any regulatory framework, there will be instances where individuals choose to operate outside of the law. Health Canada supports law enforcement representatives on a daily basis by providing a dedicated service 24 hours a day and seven days a week to confirm, when necessary, that specific individuals are authorized to produce cannabis for medical purposes.

Health Canada has the ability to inspect a production sites if it is not the registrant’s home to ensure it is abiding by the terms set out in the individual’s registration certificate.

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