Cannabis Regulations (SOR/2018-144)

Marginal note:Notice from Minister

• 344 (1) The Minister must, in the circumstances set out in subsection (2), issue a notice to the following persons and pharmacies advising them that holders of a licence for sale, holders of a licence for processing and pharmacists practising in the notified pharmacies must not distribute or sell cannabis products to the pharmacist who is named in the notice:

  • (a) the pharmacist who is named in the notice;

  • (b) all holders of a licence for sale and all holders of a licence for processing;

  • (c) all hospital pharmacies in the province in which the pharmacist who is named in the notice is entitled to practise and is practising;

  • (d) the provincial professional licensing authority for the province in which the pharmacist who is named in the notice is entitled to practise; and

  • (e) on request, the provincial professional licensing authority for any province other than the province referred to in paragraph (d).

• Marginal note:Circumstances — mandatory issuance

  (2) The notice must be issued if

  • (a) the pharmacist who is named in the notice asks the Minister, in writing, to issue the notice;

  • (b) the pharmacist who is named in the notice has contravened, in relation to cannabis, a rule of conduct established by the provincial professional licensing authority for the province in which the pharmacist is practising and the licensing authority has asked the Minister, in writing, to issue the notice;

  • (c) the pharmacist who is named in the notice has been convicted of an offence referred to in subparagraph 343(a)(iii); or

  • (d) the pharmacist who is named in the notice has been named in a notice issued under subsection 181(2) or (4).

• Marginal note:Power to issue notice

  (3) The Minister may issue a notice referred to in subsection (1) if he or she has reasonable grounds to believe that the pharmacist who is named in the notice

  • (a) has conducted an activity referred to in section 339 other than in accordance with that section;

  • (b) has, on more than one occasion, distributed or sold a cannabis product to their spouse, common-law partner, parent or child, including a child adopted in fact, contrary to accepted pharmaceutical practice; or

  • (c) is unable to account for a quantity of cannabis products for which they were responsible under this Part, the Narcotic Control Regulations or the former Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations.

• Marginal note:Preconditions

  (4) Before issuing a notice under subsection (3), the Minister must

  • (a) consult with the provincial professional licensing authority for the province in which the pharmacist to whom the notice relates is entitled to practise;

  • (b) send to the pharmacist a written notice that sets out the reasons why a notice is being considered and give him or her an opportunity to present reasons why the notice should not be issued; and

  • (c) consider

    • (i) any reasons that have been presented by the pharmacist under paragraph (b),

    • (ii) the compliance history of the pharmacist in respect of the Act, the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and the regulations made or continued under either Act, and

    • (iii) whether the actions of the pharmacist pose a significant risk to public health or public safety, including the risk of cannabis being diverted to an illicit market or activity.

Marginal note:Retraction of notice

• 345 (1) The Minister must retract a notice that was issued under section 344 if

  • (a) the pharmacist who is named in the notice has requested in writing that it be retracted;

  • (b) the pharmacist has provided a letter from the provincial professional licensing authority for the province in which the pharmacist is entitled to practise that states that the authority consents to the retraction of the notice;

  • (c) in the case where the notice was issued at the request of the pharmacist, one year has elapsed since the notice was issued; and

  • (d) in the case where the notice was issued in the circumstance referred to in paragraph 344(2)(d), the notice that was issued under subsection 181(2) or (4) has been retracted under subsection 182(1).

• Marginal note:Requirement to notify

  (2) If the Minister retracts a notice issued under section 344, he or she must notify, in writing, the persons and pharmacies to which it was issued.

Hospitals

Marginal note:Definition of distribute

346 In sections 347, 348, 350 and 351, distribute does not include administering.

Marginal note:Security of cannabis products

347 An individual in charge of a hospital must, in respect of cannabis products that they permit to be administered, distributed or sold,

• (a) take reasonable steps to protect them from theft or loss; and

• (b) report any theft or loss to the Minister within 10 days after becoming aware of the theft or loss.

Marginal note:Administration, distribution and sale

• 348 (1) An individual in charge of a hospital must not permit cannabis products to be administered, distributed or sold, except in accordance with this section.

• Marginal note:Hospital patients

  (2) An individual in charge of a hospital may permit cannabis products, other than cannabis plants and cannabis plant seeds, received from a holder of a licence for sale or a holder of a licence for processing to be

  • (a) administered, on receipt of a medical document or written order, to an inpatient or outpatient of the hospital; or

  • (b) distributed — but not sent — or sold, on receipt of a medical document or written order, to an individual referred to in paragraph (a) or an adult who is responsible for them.

• Marginal note:Requirements — distribution or sale

  (3) An individual in charge of a hospital must, if they permit cannabis products to be distributed or sold under paragraph (2)(b), ensure that

  • (a) the quantity of cannabis that is distributed or sold does not exceed the equivalent of the lesser of

    • (i) 30 times the daily quantity of dried cannabis that is specified in the medical document or written order, and

    • (ii) 150 g of dried cannabis;

  • (b) the cannabis products are distributed or sold in the container in which they were received from the holder of the licence for sale or the holder of the licence for processing;

  • (c) a label is applied to the container in which the cannabis products were received indicating

    • (i) the given name, surname and profession of the health care practitioner who signed the medical document or written order,

    • (ii) the given name and surname of the patient,

    • (iii) the daily quantity of dried cannabis that is specified in the medical document or written order, and

    • (iv) the date on which the cannabis products are distributed or sold;

  • (d) the patient or responsible adult is provided with the current version of the document entitled Consumer Information — Cannabis, published by the Government of Canada on its website; and

  • (e) the patient or responsible adult is provided with a separate document containing the information referred to in paragraph (c).

• Marginal note:Emergency purposes

  (4) An individual in charge of a hospital may permit cannabis products, other than cannabis plants and cannabis plant seeds, received from a holder of a licence for sale or a holder of a licence for processing to be distributed or sold for emergency purposes to an employee of or a health care practitioner in another hospital on receipt of an order, in writing, that has been signed and dated by a pharmacist in the other hospital or a health care practitioner who is authorized by the individual in charge of the other hospital to order cannabis products.

• Marginal note:Verification of signature

  (5) An individual in charge of a hospital must not permit cannabis products to be distributed or sold under subsection (4) unless the signature on the order has been verified by the individual who distributes or sells the cannabis products, if it is unknown to them.

• Marginal note:Distribution for research purposes

  (6) An individual in charge of a hospital may permit cannabis products, other than cannabis plants and cannabis plant seeds, to be distributed for research purposes to an individual who is employed in a research laboratory in the hospital and who holds a licence for those purposes.

• Marginal note:Return or destruction

  (7) An individual in charge of a hospital may permit cannabis products to be

  • (a) returned to the holder of the licence for sale or the holder of the licence for processing from which the cannabis products were received, on receipt of a written request for the cannabis products that has been signed and dated by, or on behalf of, the holder; or

  • (b) distributed or sold, for destruction, to a holder of a licence for sale, or a holder of a licence for processing, that is authorized to destroy cannabis that they did not produce, sell or distribute, on receipt of a written request for the cannabis products that has been signed and dated by, or on behalf of, the holder.

Marginal note:Possession — hospital employees

349 A hospital employee is authorized to possess cannabis products, other than cannabis plants or cannabis plant seeds, if

• (a) the cannabis products have been obtained in accordance with section 348 or 350; and

• (b) the employee requires the cannabis products for the purposes of, and in connection with, their employment.

Marginal note:Return and replacement

• 350 (1) An individual to whom cannabis products are distributed or sold under paragraph 348(2)(b) may return them to a hospital employee who is authorized to distribute or sell cannabis products if the employee accepts the return.

• Marginal note:Return of more than 30 g

  (2) The individual returning the cannabis products must comply with the requirements set out in subsection 292(4) if they are returning more than the equivalent of 30 g of dried cannabis and are sending the cannabis products or having them delivered to the hospital.

• Marginal note:Replacement of cannabis products

  (3) The individual in charge of the hospital may, subject to the limit referred to in paragraph 348(3)(a), permit cannabis products that have been returned to be replaced.

Marginal note:Retention of documents

• 351 (1) An individual who is in charge of a hospital must ensure that documents that contain the following information are retained:

  • (a) in respect of cannabis products that are received at the hospital,

    • (i) the class of cannabis set out in Schedule 4 to the Act to which the cannabis products belong and their brand names,

    • (ii) the quantity of cannabis that is received,

    • (iii) the name and address of the person from which the cannabis products are received, and

    • (iv) the date on which the cannabis products are received;

  • (b) in respect of cannabis products that are distributed or sold for a patient,

    • (i) the given name and surname of the patient,

    • (ii) the given name, surname and profession of the health care practitioner who signed the relevant medical document or written order, together with the date on which it was signed,

    • (iii) the daily quantity of dried cannabis that is specified in the medical document or written order referred to in subparagraph (ii) and, if applicable, the period of use that is specified,

    • (iv) the class of cannabis set out in Schedule 4 to the Act to which the cannabis products belong,

    • (v) the quantity of cannabis that is distributed or sold, and

    • (vi) the date on which the cannabis products are distributed or sold; and

  • (c) in respect of cannabis products that are distributed or sold to a person that is authorized to sell or distribute such products — other than an adult referred to in paragraph 266(1)(d) or (e) — or that are returned under subsection 348(7),

    • (i) the name of the person to which the cannabis products are distributed, sold or returned,

    • (ii) the date on which the cannabis products are distributed, sold or returned,

    • (iii) the quantity of cannabis that is distributed, sold or returned,

    • (iv) the brand names of the cannabis products, and

    • (v) in the case of cannabis products that are distributed, sold or returned under subsection 348(7), the address of the person to which they are distributed, sold or returned.

• Marginal note:Retention period

  (2) The individual in charge of the hospital must ensure that the documents are retained for at least two years after the day on which they are prepared.

Marginal note:Cessation of operations — hospital

352 If a hospital ceases operations, the individual who was in charge of the hospital must, in respect of any document that they were required to retain under this Part and for which the retention period has not yet ended,

• (a) ensure that the document continues to be retained until the end of the retention period; and

• (b) notify the Minister, in writing, of the address of the place of business at which the document is retained and of any subsequent change to the address.

Nurses

Marginal note:Disclosure to nursing statutory body

• 353 (1) The Minister must disclose, in writing, factual information about a nurse — in relation to cannabis — that has been obtained under the Act or the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to

  • (a) the nursing statutory body for a province in which the nurse is, or was, entitled to practise if

    • (i) the nursing statutory body submits to the Minister a written request that sets out the nurse’s name and address, a description of the information being requested and a statement that the information is required for the purpose of assisting an investigation by the body,

    • (ii) the Minister has reasonable grounds to believe that the nurse has contravened, in relation to cannabis, a rule of conduct established by the nursing statutory body,

    • (iii) the Minister becomes aware that the nurse has been convicted of

      • (A) a designated offence,

      • (B) a controlled substance offence in relation to cannabis,

      • (C) a contravention of the former Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations or the former Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations, or

      • (D) a contravention of the Narcotic Control Regulations in relation to cannabis, or

    • (iv) the Minister has reasonable grounds to believe that the nurse has contravened this Part, the former Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations, the former Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulationsor — in relation to cannabis — the Narcotic Control Regulations; and

  • (b) the nursing statutory body for a province in which the nurse is not entitled to practise if the nursing statutory body submits to the Minister

    • (i) a written request that sets out the nurse’s name and address and a description of the information being requested, and

    • (ii) a document that shows that

      • (A) the nurse has applied to the nursing statutory body to practise in that province, or

      • (B) the nursing statutory body has reasonable grounds to believe that the nurse is practising in that province without being authorized to do so.

• Marginal note:Definitions

  (2) The following definitions apply in this section.

  nurse

  nurse means an individual — other than a nurse practitioner — who is authorized by a nursing statutory body to practise nursing. (infirmier)

  nursing statutory body

  nursing statutory body means the authority that is responsible for authorizing individuals to practise nursing in a province. (organisme régissant la profession d’infirmier)