Canada Gazette, CANNABIS ACT, 30 days feedbackDecember 12, 2020DEPARTMENT OF HEALTHCANNABIS ACTNotice of intent — Consultation on the Cannabis Regulations: Cannabis research and other regulatory issuesIntroductionThis notice provides interested stakeholders with the opportunity to comment on Health Canada’s intent to amend the Cannabis Regulations (CR) and associated regulatory frameworks to facilitate non-therapeutic cannabis research involving human participants and cannabis testing (Part 1).This notice also provides interested stakeholders with the opportunity to provide feedback and comment on additional regulatory issues: namely public possession limit amounts (i.e. the amounts of various classes of cannabis that are equivalent to 1 gram of dried cannabis, as set out in Schedule 3 to the Cannabis Act); product labelling; micro class and nursery licences; and COVID-19 measures (Part 2). PART 1: Proposed regulations amending the Cannabis Regulations and associated regulations to facilitate non-therapeutic cannabis research involving human participants and cannabis testing
BackgroundThe Cannabis Act (the Act) creates a strict legal framework for the production, distribution, sale, import, export and possession of cannabis in Canada. Among the objectives of the Act are enhancing public awareness of the health risks associated with cannabis use and providing access to a quality-controlled supply of cannabis. To help achieve these objectives, Health Canada established a licensing framework to authorize research and development, and testing activities with cannabis under the CR. This included establishing a dedicated research licence class that authorizes activities with cannabis for the purpose of research, as well as authorizing federal licence holders to conduct research and development activities as part of the activities authorized under their licences. Similarly, the authorized activities of government laboratories referred to in section 4 of the CR and the analytical testing licence class permit cannabis testing activities (e.g. for contaminants, cannabinoid content). Other licence holders may also conduct their own testing activities if authorized under their licence, subject to certain conditions. Under the Cannabis Exemption (Food and Drugs Act) Regulations (CER), cannabis, as defined in the Act and in relation to an activity conducted in accordance with the Act, is exempt from the application of the Food and Drugs Act (FDA) under specific conditions. Cannabis is not exempt from the FDA where it is sold to be used for the purpose of a clinical trial as defined in the Food and Drug Regulations (FDR) [i.e. investigations involving human participants for certain purposes] or an experimental study as defined in those Regulations. Currently, research activities with cannabis involving human participants that meet the definition of clinical trial must meet the relevant requirements of both the CR and the FDR in order to be authorized. Health Canada recognizes that conducting research involving human participants with cannabis is critical to generating high-quality evidence to provide adult Canadians with the necessary knowledge to make informed decisions on their consumption of cannabis and its risks. Health Canada is aware that researchers are interested in studying the psychological and physiological effects of commercially available cannabis products from a non-therapeutic perspective. Non-therapeutic studies can include investigating the time to onset or duration of effects of a cannabis product, the impact of cannabis use on driving performance, or various other types of public health research. Health Canada is also aware of academic and industry researchers facing challenges in conducting non-therapeutic research involving human participants with cannabis products that are commercially available due to having to comply with the clinical trial requirements under Division 5 of Part C of the FDR.
Regulatory proposalHealth Canada is considering proposing amendments to the CR and associated regulatory frameworks to facilitate non-therapeutic research with cannabis involving human participants, and to facilitate testing activities with cannabis. The proposed amendments would
Questions to guide input from interested partiesBelow are key questions for which Health Canada is particularly interested in receiving input. However, all input is welcome and should not be limited to responses to these questions. Please provide a rationale and/or evidence to support your views wherever possible.
PART 2: Feedback on additional regulatory issuesIn addition to seeking input from interested stakeholders on Health Canada’s intent to propose amendments to the CR and associated regulatory frameworks to facilitate non-therapeutic cannabis research involving human participants and cannabis testing, Health Canada is also seeking input on the topics below. There are key questions after each topic for which Health Canada is particularly interested in receiving input. However, all input is welcome and should not be limited to responses to these questions. Please provide a rationale and/or evidence to support your views wherever possible. The responses will help inform potential future regulatory development and will be reviewed carefully by Health Canada.Public possession limitUnder the Act, individuals 18 years of age and older are prohibited from possessing in public more than 30 grams of dried cannabis or its “equivalent” for non-dried forms of cannabis. Schedule 3 to the Act sets the amounts of various classes of cannabis that are considered equivalent to 1 gram of dried cannabis. These amounts generally align with U.S. jurisdictions that have legalized and regulated cannabis for non-medical purposes. To help individuals comply with the public possession limit, the CR require that all cannabis products for retail sale, except for dried cannabis or a cannabis plant, be labelled with a statement indicating the amount of dried cannabis the product would be equivalent to (i.e. a public possession statement). In public opinion research conducted in February 2020 by Health Canada, many participants were generally aware that there is a limit for the amount of cannabis that an adult can possess in public, however, very few were aware of what that limit actually is. The public possession statement on product labels was often misunderstood, and many participants in the public opinion research did not associate it with an indication of the public possession limit. Rather, this information was misinterpreted as either serving as a guide of product strength or as a benchmark enabling cost comparison between different cannabis products. As well, some stakeholders have suggested that the public possession limits for non-solids containing cannabis (e.g. cannabis beverages) are too low, and that the public possession limits are encouraging consumers to purchase higher potency cannabis beverages.
Product labellingCannabis contains hundreds of chemical substances, including cannabinoids (such as tetrahydrocannabinol [THC] and cannabidiol [CBD]) and terpenes. The CR require that product labels indicate the quantity or concentration of the THC and CBD in cannabis products. Licence holders may choose to display the name, quantity or concentration of other cannabinoids and terpenes in the product, provided that the labelling and packaging comply with the CR.
Micro class and nursery licencesThe CR sets out a licensing framework intended to enable a diverse, competitive legal industry that is comprised of a range of market participants, including both small and large players. Three of the licence subclasses — micro-cultivation, micro-processing, and nursery — are intended to enable the participation of small-scale players. The micro-cultivation and micro-processing licences authorize the same activities as a licence for standard cultivation and standard processing respectively, but at a smaller scale. The nursery licence is intended to enable a legal source of starting materials (both for commercial and personal cultivation), and the development of new varieties of high quality cannabis. These licences are subject to reduced regulatory requirements (e.g. in the area of physical security), which reflects the level of risk related to the scale of the operation.
COVID-19 measuresSince April 2020, Health Canada has put in place measures to support cannabis licence holders with operational and logistical difficulties that they may be facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These include, among others, accepting a packaging date that is within four (4) days of the printed packaging date on the label (provided appropriate records are kept), enabling the destruction of cannabis to be witnessed virtually and simplifying the requirements for the presence of a security cleared person accompanying cannabis being treated at an external destruction or irradiation facility. These measures are in place until March 31, 2021.
ConclusionThe publication of this notice in the Canada Gazette, Part I, initiates a 30-day comment period. Health Canada is seeking feedback and comments to ensure that the proposed regulatory amendments with respect to cannabis research and testing are informed by and responsive to the cannabis industry, cannabis researchers, other relevant stakeholders and the public. The Department is also interested in views on a variety of other aspects related to the regulatory framework. Any inquiries or comments for this notice must be sent by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. stating the title of this notice (Notice of intent —Consultation on the Cannabis Regulations: Cannabis research and other regulatory issues) in the subject line. John Clare Director General Strategic Policy, Cannabis Controlled Substances and Cannabis BranchCanada Gazette, Part I, Volume 154, Number 50: GOVERNMENT NOTICES December 12, 2020
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