Cannabis facility tours
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Disclaimer: This document is intended to support licence holders in understanding and complying with the Cannabis Act and its regulations. In the event of any discrepancy between this document and the legislation, the legislation shall prevail. For a full understanding of your obligations, please refer to the Cannabis Act, Cannabis Regulations, and any applicable federal, provincial, territorial, or municipal legislation.
Who this is for
The following content applies to:
- micro-cultivation, nursery and standard cultivation licences
- micro-processing and standard processing licences
- sale for medical purposes with and without possession licenses
- research licences
- analytical testing licences
- cannabis drug licences
Overview
At Health Canada, we are committed to supporting cannabis licence holders in achieving high standards of regulatory compliance. As part of our compliance promotion efforts, we want to highlight important information about the federal regulatory requirements that apply to tours of cannabis production facilities. For the purposes of this document, a facility refers to the authorized site of a cannabis licence holder.
Key considerations and best practices
Federal, provincial and territorial governments share responsibility for overseeing the cannabis regulatory system. Their goal is to protect the health and safety of Canadians. Below are requirements from the Cannabis Act (the Act or CA) and Cannabis Regulations (the Regulations or CR) to keep in mind when designing cannabis facility tours.
Facility tour areas
Tour participants are not considered people whose presence is required by their duties, so tour areas must leave out certain restricted areas:
- For standard licence holders: Tours of facilities must not include operations or storage areas [subs. 68(1), CR]
- For micro licence holders: Tours of facilities must not include storage areas [para. 74(d), CR]
Other licence classes have their own applicable access restrictions under the Regulations.
Age restrictions and promotions
Any facility tours must follow the restrictions under the Act and the Regulations aimed at protecting young persons.
- Cannabis, cannabis accessories or cannabis packaging and labelling cannot be displayed, or otherwise be visible, to a young person. [s. 29 and 30, CA]
- Tours of facilities where cannabis may be visible must be restricted to adults.
- All cannabis promotions about or within tours of facilities must respect the restrictions on promotions, including requirements related to age-restricted promotion.
Sales and distribution compliance
Note: Cultivation or processing licence holders cannot sell cannabis to consumers. The only exception is for sale for medical purposes. These licence holders can only sell to registered clients for medical purposes, and can only do so by mail.
Cultivation or processing licence holders cannot distribute cannabis to consumers. The only exception is when it is directly requested by the provincial or territorial retailer who sold the cannabis to the consumer.
Farmgate stores
Cannabis production facilities co-located with an authorized provincial and territorial retailer are commonly called farmgate stores. Farmgate stores are authorized by the provinces and territories. Licence holders who run a farmgate store must follow the applicable requirements in the Act and Regulations and those set by their province or territory. Below are some of the relevant federal requirements for provincial and territorial retailers, including farmgate stores.
- Provincial and territorial retailers are authorized to sell cannabis, but they cannot give cannabis to a consumer without monetary consideration. For example, offering free cannabis samples as part of a tour of a cannabis facility would not be allowed. [para. 24(1)(a), CA]
- It is prohibited to provide a service if it is provided as an inducement to buy cannabis or a cannabis accessory. Licence holders should carefully consider whether any services offered during tours or other activities could be perceived as inducements. [para. 24(1)(c), CA]
- Provincial or territorial retailers can only sell a cannabis product to a consumer if it meets all the packaging and labelling requirements in the Act and Regulations.
On-site consumption
The Act and Regulations do not regulate where someone may consume cannabis. This is governed by provinces, territories and municipal jurisdictions. Any on-site cannabis consumption must follow all relevant jurisdictional requirements.
Contact us
Questions about compliance requirements? Contact us at compliance-cannabis-conformite@hc-sc.gc.ca or check out the Cannabis and industrial hemp contact information webpage.
Resources
- Promotion of cannabis: Prohibitions and permissions
- Packaging and labelling guide for cannabis products
- Good production practices guide for cannabis
- Physical security measures for cannabis licences
- Cannabis Act and Cannabis Regulations
Stay informed through updates on the Cannabis and Industrial Hemp webpage