On March 31, 2022, Health Canada sent an email to stakeholders announcing an upcoming change to authorizations to sell dried and fresh cannabis products. This change is being implemented as part of Health Canada’s continuous efforts to improve the cannabis program.
What change is being made to dried and fresh cannabis products?
On April 19, 2022, Health Canada will begin granting the authorization to sell dried and fresh cannabis products to all micro and standard processing license holders during the initial licensing process. Therefore, a sales amendment application (requesting a change to authorized activities) will not need to be filed in order to sell dried and fresh cannabis products.
How does this differ from before?
Historically, micro and standard processors would be issued their license with conditions and would have to file a ‘sales amendment’ application to remove such conditions and authorize them to sell dried and fresh cannabis products. This process often took anywhere from 3-6 months after initial licensing. Going forward, the sales amendment will only need to be filed for the edibles, extracts and topical classes of cannabis products.
Which classes of cannabis does this change apply to?
This program change applies to dried and fresh cannabis products only. The change does not apply to extracts, topical and edible cannabis products. Processing license holders will still have to submit a sales amendment application to request the authority to sell these classes of cannabis products.
How does this effect current license holders?
Existing licenses that do not authorize the sale of dried and fresh cannabis products will be reissued by Health Canada with amended conditions within the next 90 days. License applications that are already in the queue for a sales amendment will be prioritized.
Furthermore, license holders will be authorized to sell dried or fresh cannabis products to authorized provincial and territorial retail distributors once their license has been amended and 60 days after their Notification of New Cannabis Product (NNCP) has been submitted for any dried or fresh cannabis products
Do license holders need to take any action for this change?
Health Canada has confirmed that no action is required on the part of license holders or license applicants at this time. Processors who have already submitted a sales amendment application for dried and fresh cannabis products will be contacted on a case-by-case basis by Health Canada to clarify next steps. Those who have not submitted a sales amendment application for dried and fresh cannabis products may see a change request (CHG) in the CTLS that they did not submit as Health Canada amends their license. Finally, license applicants and license holders who have submitted a license application for a processing license (micro or standard) will be granted the authorization to sell dried and fresh cannabis products to provincial and territorial retail distributors at initial licensing.
Why is Health Canada introducing this change?
Health Canada is introducing this change as part of their ongoing effort to improve the cannabis program. This program change is based on the lower risk associated with producing dried and fresh cannabis products. Ultimately, this change will lessen the regulatory burden on license holders and give new license holders the ability to bring products to market faster.
How we can help
At Cannabis License Experts, we provide you with the guidance to plan your cannabis processing business, acquire funding, navigate the legal requirements, and acquire the appropriate cannabis license for your operations. As the Canadian cannabis industry develops, more and more licensed producers will be needed to meet the demands of consumers.
Cannabis License Experts offers support from day one of starting your cannabis business, including strategic planning, floor plan preparation, site audits, SOPs, Preventive Control Plants (PCCs) and more.
Our Edibles Compliance division can provide you with a solid plan for your edibles business to help get your products on store shelves.
Contact us today to discover how we can license and legalize your cannabis business to meet federal or provincial regulations.
