Ten Things To Know Now That Recreational Cannabis Will Be Legal In Canada

This article provides a brief overview of the recent developments around this hot topic, including: the status of the legalization of cannabis, associated regulations, connection to Bill C-46,1 and some of the key issues emerging from legalization.

1. Recreational use of cannabis will be legal in Canada on October 17, 2018.

   The Liberal government looks set to achieve their stated goal of legalizing cannabis by 2018, although it will be slightly later than initially forecast. Bill C-45, the Cannabis Act ("the Act"), to legalize and regulate the recreational consumption of cannabis received Royal Assent on June 21, 2018. On June 19, 2018, senators passed Bill C-45 by a 52-29 vote, with two abstentions. The Act is scheduled to come into force, making recreational cannabis use officially legal on October 17, 2018. The delay to the fall is to allow the provinces time to prepare for legalization, including procurement of cannabis stock to sell from storefronts.

   The societal context for Bill C-45 has been characterized as follows by Parliament:2

   "This enactment enacts the Cannabis Act to provide legal access to cannabis and to control and regulate its production, distribution and sale.

   The objectives of the Act are to prevent young persons from accessing cannabis, to protect public health and public safety by establishing strict product safety and product quality requirements and to deter criminal activity by imposing serious criminal penalties for those operating outside the legal framework. The Act is also intended to reduce the burden on the criminal justice system in relation to cannabis."

2. Cannabis is to be regulated through a model of co-operative federalism.

   In November 2017, Health Canada published a consultation paper, "Proposed Approach to the Regulation of Cannabis", which aimed to elicit feedback from stakeholders on the proposed regulations ancillary to the Cannabis Act. The consultation period closed on January 20, 2018. A summary of the feedback received during the public consultation was subsequently published by Health Canada.

   The regulation of cannabis is to occur through a division of responsibility between the federal and provincial/territorial levels. The Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs said in its May 1, 2018 report, following its consideration of Bill C-45, that "while the Cannabis Act would provide a national framework addressing the criminal and health-related aspects of these matters, the provinces, territories, municipalities and Indigenous communities are expected to further regulate the possession, use, sale, and distribution of cannabis."3

   The regulations address the following themes:4

   Licences, Permits, and Authorizations; Security Clearances; Cannabis Tracking System; Cannabis Products; Packaging and Labelling; Cannabis for Medical Purposes; Health Products and Cosmetics Containing Cannabis; and Miscellaneous Issues. The Government announced that its cannabis regulations are to be published on July 11 and to come into force in October along with Bill C-45. The regulations are summarized in some detail here.

3. Provinces are moving in the same direction, but not taking a uniform approach.

   In anticipation of the Cannabis Act coming into force, provinces and territories have been...