Accessing cannabis for medical purposes from a licensed producer

Learn how to access cannabis for your medical purposes by registering as a client of a licence holder under the Cannabis Regulations.

On this page

• Meet with your health care practitioner
• Register with a licence holder
• Possessing cannabis
• How to switch to a different licence holder
• Responsible adults
• Refusal and revocation

Meet with your health care practitioner

Meet with your health care practitioner to discuss whether you should use cannabis for your condition.

Your health care practitioner may provide you with a medical document if they determine that a limited amount of cannabis is required for the condition for which you are receiving treatment.

Register with a licence holder

You can register with a sale for medical purposes licence holder to obtain cannabis products for your own medical use, including:

• fresh cannabis
• dried cannabis
• edible cannabis
• topical cannabis
• cannabis extracts

To register with the sale for medical purposes licence holder of your choice, you will need to both:

• complete a registration form specific to that licence holder
  • forms are available on the licence holder's website or by contacting them directly
• provide your original medical document or a copy of the registration certificate issued by Health Canada

Registration forms are available on the website of a licence holder or by contacting them directly.

Contact the licence holder with whom you wish to register for further information regarding application requirements.

You can register with a licence holder to obtain starting materials or an interim supply if you have registered with Health Canada to either:

• produce cannabis for your own medical purposes
• have designated another person to produce on your behalf

Possessing cannabis

You are allowed to possess up to a 30-day supply of dried cannabis, or its equivalent. Your maximum amount of dried cannabis that can be possessed at one time is the lower amount of what your health care practitioner has recommended for 30 days, or 150 grams.

For example, if your health care practitioner recommends:

• 2 grams of dried cannabis a day, you can possess up to 60 grams of dried cannabis at one time
  • 2 grams × 30 days = 60 grams
• 6 grams of dried cannabis a day, you can possess 150 grams of dried cannabis
  • 6 grams × 30 days = 180 grams
  • the maximum amount is 150 grams, as set out in the regulations

How to switch to a different licence holder

You may switch to a different licence holder at any time. Licence holders are, however, not allowed to return your medical document. In order to switch licence holders, you must contact your current licence holder and let them know which licence holder you want to switch to.

If the other licence holder agrees to register you, then your current licence holder must transfer your medical document to them at your request.

You may wish to contact the licence holder with whom you choose to register for further information regarding application requirements.

You can also obtain a new medical document from your health care practitioner, and register directly with another licence holder.

Responsible adults

A responsible adult is a person over the age of 18 who is responsible for the client of a sale for medical purposes licence holder and is named in the client's registration document.

An applicant may seek to rely on a responsible adult because they are a child or elderly, or they have a serious and prolonged impairment in physical or mental functions, for example. The responsible adult can submit the application form and related documents on behalf of the applicant. Once a client is registered with the licence holder, a responsible adult may apply to renew, amend, or revoke the registration.

Applicants do not need to have a responsible adult.

The role of the responsible adult carries responsibilities, such as a willingness to:

• help administer the cannabis
• be responsible for the client of a licence holder's use of cannabis for medical purposes

When relying on a responsible adult, a person should consider whether the responsible adult is able to fulfill the responsibilities of the role that are outlined above such as helping with the administration of cannabis and responsibility for the client's use of cannabis for medical purposes.

Responsible adults should be able to fulfill their responsibilities. In some cases, a person may be unable to fulfill all the responsibilities of a responsible adult, such as helping with the administration of the cannabis. Examples include one person serving as the responsible adult for more than one client (for example, a caretaker of 2 elderly people), or where there is a large geographic distance between the responsible adult and their client. In these cases, clients of licence holders should consider whether another person could serve as their responsible adult.

Examples

The following are some examples where the client of a licence holder may seek to rely on a responsible adult:

• A child has a responsible adult who is their parent or legal guardian.
• A person with a disability or an elderly person has a responsible adult who is their caretaker or someone who provides them with assistance.

There may be other situations where a client may seek to rely on a responsible adult.

Refusal and revocation

Licence holders may refuse to issue or may revoke a registration pursuant to sections 284 or 286 of the Cannabis Regulations.

For more information

• Sample medical document
• Starting materials and interim supply
• Registering to produce cannabis for your own medical purposes

Disclaimer

You need to read this page along with the Cannabis Act and the Cannabis Regulations. If there are differences between this page and the legislation, the legislation is correct.