Cannabis Act comes into force Oct.17 2018

Health Canada- ‘We are pleased to inform you that regulations supporting the Cannabis Act have now been approved and will come into force on the same day as the Cannabis Act. When the Cannabis Act and its regulations come into force, cannabis will be removed from Schedule II of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA). In addition, the regulations that pertain to cannabis will be repealed, and references to cannabis in the Narcotic Control Regulations will be removed. This includes the Industrial Hemp Regulations (IHR 1998) which will be replaced by the IHR 2018.

What will change when the new Industrial Hemp Regulations come into force?

The following is a summary of the changes that will apply when the new IHR come into force on October 17, 2018: 

  • The flowering heads, leaves and branches of industrial hemp will no longer need to be destroyed. Instead, these plant parts may be sold to another holder of an industrial hemp licence or a holder of a licence under the Cannabis Regulations. Please note that you will be required to store these plant parts under conditions that maintain their quality. Also, if intended for sale, these plant parts must be transported, sent or delivered in a manner that maintains their quality.
  • Criminal record checks will no longer be required.
  • You will no longer be prohibited from cultivating hemp within one kilometre of any school ground or other public place.
  • You will no longer be required to store industrial hemp in a locked container or a locked location, or on premises to which only authorized persons have access.
  • You will no longer be required to use third party samplers for testing.
  • New import and export permits will be valid for up to six months.
  • You will have 30 days to notify the Minister of changes to licence information.
  • You must notify the Minister of required cultivation information within 30 days of seeding.
  • New licences will be valid for up to five years.

What do I need to do right now?

For the moment there is nothing that you need to do.

Upon coming into force of the Cannabis Act and its regulations on October 17, 2018, licence holders undertaking activities with industrial hemp will be able to continue those activities through transitional provisions outlined in the Act. Until that time, the IHR 1998 under the CDSA continue to apply.

Your licence expiry date remains the same (March 31, 2019).

For those who hold an authorization under the IHR 1998 please note that seed sampling, transportation and harvesting activities no longer require an authorization.

Requests for import and export permits should continue to be sent to  hc.permitspermis.sc@canada.ca

The Notification of Cultivation should continue to be sent to  hc.hemp-chanvre.sc@canada.ca