Cannabis Regulations

Marginal note:Notice from Minister

• 335 (1) The Minister must, in the circumstances set out in subsection (2), issue a notice to the persons and pharmacies specified in subsection (3) advising them, as applicable, that

  • (a) the holders of a licence for sale and the holders of a licence for processing that receive the notice must not send cannabis products to the health care practitioner who is named in the notice;

  • (b) any medical document that is signed by the health care practitioner who is named in the notice must not form the basis for registering a client if the medical document is signed after the day on which the notice is issued; and

  • (c) pharmacists practising in the notified pharmacies must not distribute or sell cannabis products on the basis of a medical document signed by, or a written order issued by, the health care practitioner who is named in the notice if the medical document is signed, or the written order is issued, after the day on which the notice is issued.

• Marginal note:Circumstances — mandatory issuance

  (2) The notice must be issued if

  • (a) the health care practitioner who is named in the notice has asked the Minister, in writing, to issue it;

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

  • (c) the health care practitioner who is named in the notice has been convicted of

    • (i) a designated offence,

    • (ii) a contravention of these Regulations,

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

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

    • (v) a contravention of the former Narcotic Control Regulations in relation to cannabis; or

  • (d) the health care practitioner who is named in the notice has been named in a notice issued under subsection 189(2) or (4).

• Marginal note:Recipients of notice

  (3) A notice that is issued under this section must be issued to

  • (a) the health care practitioner who is named in the notice;

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

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

  • (d) the provincial professional regulatory authority for the province in which the health care practitioner who is named in the notice is entitled to practise; and

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

• Marginal note:Power to issue notice

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

  • (a) has conducted an activity referred to in section 272 other than in accordance with that section;

  • (b) has provided a medical document, or issued a written order, that contains false or misleading information;

  • (c) has, on more than one occasion, provided themselves with a medical document or issued a written order for themselves, contrary to accepted medical practice;

  • (d) has, on more than one occasion, conducted an activity referred to in section 272 in respect of their spouse, common-law partner, parent or child, including a child adopted in fact, contrary to accepted medical practice; or

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

• Marginal note:Preconditions

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

  • (a) consult with the provincial professional regulatory authority for the province in which the health care practitioner to whom the notice relates is entitled to practise;

  • (b) send to the health care practitioner 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 health care practitioner under paragraph (b),

    • (ii) the compliance history of the health care practitioner 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 health care practitioner pose a significant risk to public health or public safety, including the risk of cannabis being diverted to an illicit market or activity.