The context and approach of cannabis regulation

In June 2018, the Government of Canada adopted the Cannabis Act (S.C. 2018, Chapter 16). This Act seeks to decriminalize certain cannabis-related activities, particularly in matters of possession, production, distribution, sale, importing and exporting, since October 17, 2018.

In general, 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;
• to deter criminal activity by imposing serious criminal penalties for those operating outside the legal framework ;
• to reduce the burden on the criminal justice system in relation to cannabis.

Cannabis involves significant risks for public health and safety, therefore the Gouvernement du Québec must stringently regulate the substance.

The regulation aims mainly to reduce the risks and harm to the health and safety of individuals. Emphasis is placed specifically on the following:

• protecting the health and safety of persons, in particular those of the most vulnerable groups, including young persons;
• preventing the initiation to cannabis use, particularly of teenagers, young adults and vulnerable groups of the population;
• promoting the integration of consumers into the legal market from the perspective that the regulated sale of quality-controlled products will reduce health risks; and
• ensuring road safety.

In order to establish this regulation, the Gouvernement du Québec consulted with experts, citizens and organizations in the summer of 2017. The Act to constitute the Société québécoise du cannabis, to enact the Cannabis Regulation Act and to amend various highway safety-related provisions  (in French only) was adopted on June 12, 2018. The measures in force particularly concern possession, use, cultivation for personal use, production, transportation and storage, promotion and advertising, sale, and characteristics of cannabis products.

The legislative framework provides for various regulatory powers to allow rapid adaptation based on the advancement of knowledge and the occurrence of unexpected problem situations.

A few regulations have been adopted to date, particularly the Regulation to determine other classes of cannabis that may be sold by the Société québécoise du cannabis and certain standards respecting the composition and characteristic of cannabis  (in French only).

The Act to tighten the regulation of cannabis passed on November 1, 2019. This act amends the Cannabis Regulation Act, particularly by tightening the restrictions on use and raising the legal age of possession and purchase of cannabis to 21 years.