Cannabis for medical purposes

With the Cannabis Act coming into force on October 17, 2018, there are two distinct systems for distributing cannabis in Canada; the federally regulated medical system which essentially remains unchanged, and a provincial system that regulates the retailing of cannabis for recreational use. The legalization of cannabis has implications for pharmacy practice both in respect to medical use of cannabis by patients and recreational use of cannabis.

ACP has written two documents to support pharmacy practices under the new legislation:

• Introduction to the Cannabis Act and its regulations; and
• Guidance for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy proprietors – Cannabis for medical purposes.​

Cannabis was also the topic of the March 2019 edition of Full Scale, which includes background information and feature stories.

Additional resources

• Canadian College of Family Physicians, Simplified Guidelines for Prescribing Medical Cannabinoids in Primary Care
• Towards Optimized Practice, Medical Cannabinoid Clinical Practice Guidelines
• Health Canada, Information for Health Care Professionals: Cannabis and the cannabinoids
• Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Canada’s Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines (LRCUG)
• Government of Canada, Federal Cannabis Act
• Government of Canada, Federal Cannabis Regulations