Significant Changes To Canada's Cannabis Licensing Process

Health Canada has issued a press release stating that it is changing the application process for licences to cultivate cannabis, process cannabis or sell cannabis for medical purposes (Commercial Licences).

Effective immediately, Health Canada will require new applicants for Commercial Licences to have a completed site that meets all the requirements of the Cannabis Act (Act) and Cannabis Regulations (Regulations) at the time of their application.

These changes are being implemented following a review of the current application process, which found that significant department resources were being used to consider applications from applicants that were not ready to begin operations. This in turn significantly contributed to wait times for prepared applicants and resulted in an inefficient allocation of existing department capacity.