Overview of Canadian and Latin American Cannabis Regulatory Changes (2013‑2017)

ACKRELL CAPITAL CHAPTERV_ Global Cannabis Regulation in 2013 by the Marihuana [sic] Medical Program Regulations (MMPR). The MMPR created a regu- latory framework under which individuals with a medical need could obtain dry cannabis flower from licensed commercial producers. Like the MMAR before it, the MMPR was held unconstitutional and was eventually replaced, this time in August 2016, by the currently effective Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR). The ACMPR permits businesses licensed by Health Canada to commercially produce and distrib- ute cannabis flower, cannabis oil and cannabis starter materials, such as plants and seeds, to individuals with a medical recommendation from an authorized health care practitioner. The ACMPR also allows such individuals to produce a limited amount of cannabis for their own medical purposes, or to des- ignate another person (which may include Health Canada) to produce it for them. The ACMPR sets forth a comprehensive licensing and regulatory regime that addresses security of licensed production facilities, import and export permits, quality control measures and labeling requirements, and imposes limits on the amount of cannabis that can be produced and possessed by an individual. In April 2017, a proposed recreational law was introduced in the Canadian parliament; this legis- lation would allow adults to purchase cannabis from federally licensed producers and to possess and share cannabis with other adults. The proposed Cannabis Act would authorize the Canadian govern- ment to issue regulations for the administration and enforcement of the act and to issue licenses and permits authorizing the importation, exportation, production, testing, packaging, labeling, sending, delivery, transportation, sale, possession or disposal of cannabis and cannabis products. The Cannabis Act would authorize Canadian provinces and territories to regulate the distribution and retail sale of cannabis within their jurisdictions, and all individuals and entities, including federally licensed busi- nesses, would be required to comply with those local regulations as well as federal laws. Unlike the ACMPR, which is a set of medical cannabis regulations issued within the framework of Canada’s CDSA, the Cannabis Act would amend the CDSA and related criminal and other statutes to facilitate the recreational law in Canada. The proposed Cannabis Act is widely expected to be approved in some form by the Canadian parliament by mid-2018. If approved, Canada would be the largest country in the world to legalize recreational cannabis on a national level. Latin America and the Caribbean During the past five years, Latin American and Caribbean nations (and Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory) have taken significant legal measures that increase access to cannabis for medical purposes, permit recreational cannabis use and relax criminal prohibitions. In 2013, Uruguay became the first nation in the world to legalize and regulate the commercial pro- duction and sale of cannabis to adults for recreational and other uses. The Uruguayan law authorizes licensed producers to grow cannabis for sale, through licensed pharmacies, to Uruguayan citizens and permanent residents who have registered with the government; the law also permits individuals to grow up to six cannabis plants per year and to form small clubs that may grow up to 99 plants per year. Cannabis sales through licensed pharmacies commenced in 2017. In 2015, Colombia approved a legal framework for the cultivation, processing and sale of cannabis extracts and related products for scientific and medical purposes. The Colombian framework provides © 2017 Ackrell Capital, LLC | Member FINRA/SIPC 97 HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_024733