Types of cannabis and industrial hemp licences

Micro-cultivation licence

A micro-cultivation licence allows you to produce cannabis plants and seeds, pollen and fresh and dried cannabis. With this licence, you can use a grow surface area (plant canopy) of up to 800 m². There's no size limit for areas used for non-cultivation activities and storage.

Calculating the grow surface areas.

Nursery licence

A nursery licence allows you to produce cannabis plants and seeds (starting material) and pollen. With this licence, you can:

• use a grow surface area (plant canopy) of up to 200 m² for budding and flowering plants. There's no size limit for non-budding and non-flowering plants, such as cannabis in their vegetative stage (mother plants, plant cuttings or clones)
• have up to 20 kg of harvested flowering heads at any given time (except seeds). You must destroy flowering heads (except seeds), leaves and branches within 30 days of harvesting them

Calculating the grow surface areas

Standard cultivation licence

A standard cultivation licence allows you to produce cannabis plants and seeds, pollen and fresh and dried cannabis with no size limit on grow surface areas (plant canopies).

Table 1 provides a summary of the types of cannabis that micro-cultivation and standard cultivation licence holders can sell and distribute. Table 2 provides a summary of the types of cannabis that nursery licence holders can sell and distribute.

Micro-processing licence

A micro-processing licence allows you to produce cannabis, other than by synthesizing, cultivating, propagating or harvesting it. For example, you can't produce cannabis synthetically, such as through chemical reactions or recombinant bacteria. You can only possess up to 2,400 kg of dried cannabis each calendar year, or its equivalent amount. This doesn't apply to you if the only cannabis you possess is grown from your own micro-cultivation licence at the same site.

Calculating a possession limit

Standard processing licence

A standard processing licence allows you to produce cannabis, other than by cultivating, propagating or harvesting it with no limit on cannabis possession.

For processing drugs containing cannabis, refer to Produce and sell drugs containing cannabis.

For processing other products containing cannabis such as veterinary health products, natural health products, cosmetics, or medical devices, refer to Other licences or notifications.

When you first get a new processing licence, Health Canada will place conditions on your licence restricting what you can sell.

Table 3 provides a summary of the stages and types of cannabis that processing licence holders can sell and distribute at initial licensing and after a licence amendment. For packaged and labelled cannabis topicals, extracts and edibles, you're restricted to who you can sell to at initial licensing. You'll need to submit an amendment application to change your licence if you want to remove this restriction.

This licence also allows you to:

• possess packaged and labelled cannabis products
• sell and distribute packaged and labelled cannabis products
• register clients and do sales transactions

You can have this licence on its own or you can combine it with others at the same site. If you combine this licence with a micro-cultivation, nursery or micro-processing licence, you'll need to meet the physical security requirements of a standard licence.

This licence doesn't allow you to sell directly to provincial and territorial authorized retailers (non-medical sale).

For a licence without possession of cannabis, you can have this licence either on its own, or you can combine it with a micro-cultivation, nursery or micro-processing licence at the same site. You can't have a licence for sale for medical purpose with possession and without possession at the same time at the same site.

On its own

On its own, this licence allows you to:

• sell another licence holder's packaged and labelled cannabis product without possessing it on your site
• register clients and do sales transactions

This licence doesn't allow you to have cannabis on your site. You'd coordinate the sale with a holder of a cultivation, nursery or processing licence. That other licence holder would fulfill the order and distribute directly to your registered client. This licence also doesn't allow you to sell directly to provincial and territorial authorized retailers (non-medical sale).

If you only want this licence, you'll only need to meet the requirements for a sale for medical purposes without possession licence.

Combined with another licence

You can combine a sale for medical purposes without possession licence with a:

• micro-cultivation licence
• nursery licence
• micro-processing licence

You'll have to meet the physical security measures for all of the licences on your site. Combined with another licence, the sale for medical purposes without possession licence allows you to:

• sell and distribute cannabis products from your micro-cultivation, nursery, or micro-processing licence directly to registered clients of your sale for medical purposes without possession licence
• sell another licence holder's packaged and labelled cannabis without possessing it on your site. You'd coordinate the sale with the other licence holder. That other licence holder will fulfill the order and distribute directly to your registered client
• register clients and do sales transactions

You'll have the same authorizations to sell and distribute non-medical cannabis as your combined micro-cultivation, nursery or micro-processing licence.

Note: When micro-processing licences are combined with a sale for medical purposes without possession licence, you are only allowed to possess up to 2,400 kg of dried cannabis, or its equivalent amount, on your site per calendar year. This doesn't apply to you if the only cannabis you possess is grown from your own micro-cultivation licence at the same site.

Calculating a possession limit

This table provides a summary of the types of packaged and labelled cannabis that sale for medical purposes licence holders can sell and distribute.

To grow cannabis for your own medical purposes or designate someone to grow it for you, refer to Registering to produce or possess cannabis for your own medical purposes.

For selling other products containing cannabis such as veterinary health products, natural health products, cosmetics or medical devices, refer to Other licences or notifications.

An analytical testing licence allows you to do analytical testing of cannabis, including for other licence holders. This includes the required testing before cannabis can be sold to sale for medical purposes licence holders, registered clients and provincial and territorial authorized retailers (non-medical sale). You must destroy the cannabis sample and all cannabis obtained from that sample within 90 days after completing the test. If you don't start the test within 120 days of receiving the cannabis sample, then you must, by the end of this period, either destroy it or distribute it to:

• another analytical testing licence holder
• individuals referred to in section 4 of the Regulations

This licence also allows you to:

• possess cannabis for analytical testing
• obtain cannabis by altering its chemical or physical properties for the purpose of testing
• isolate or concentrate phytocannabinoids from mature cannabis stalk (including industrial hemp) for the purpose of testingdistribute cannabis to another analytical testing licence holder or individuals referred to in section 4 of the Regulations for the purpose of testing
• distribute cannabis to another analytical testing licence holder or individuals referred to in section 4 of the Regulations for the purpose of testing
• do research and development within your authorized activities, such as development and validation of testing methodologies
• produce, distribute and sell reference standards and manufacture and assemble test kits

Examples of analytical testing activities you can do with an analytical testing licence include testing for:

• cannabinoid content
• microbial and chemical (including pesticides) contaminants
• dissolution or disintegration
• sterility or stability

If you want to do research outside of your authorized activities, you may need to apply for a research licence. This includes non-therapeutic research on cannabis such as assessing the tase or flavour profile of edible cannabis (such as chocolates).

A research licence allows you to do research and development with cannabis, including research outside the authorized activities for other cannabis licences.

This licence also allows you to, for the purpose of research:

• possess cannabis
• grow cannabis
• produce cannabis
• isolate or concentrate phytocannabinoids from mature cannabis stalk (including industrial hemp)
• transport, send or deliver cannabis between your licensed sites
• do research activities, such as:
  • in vivo and in vitro studies
  • cultivation (including plant genetics)
  • cannabis product development
  • other research that requires you to possess cannabis (for example, developing grow lights or educational programs)
• administer and distribute cannabis to a human participant. This could be a part of:
  • a non-therapeutic research on cannabis (NTRC) study, such as:
    • asking participants to assess the smell of dried cannabis after a single puff
    • assessing participants in a driving simulation test to find out how long they're impaired after researchers have administered cannabis
  • a clinical trial, such as assessing the therapeutic effects of cannabis for drug development

Depending on your research activities with cannabis, you may need to submit more information. If it's part of a clinical trial, you need to submit a clinical trial application and get a No Objection Letter. If it involves animals (in vivo), you may need to get a veterinary drug experimental studies certificate.

Types of research with cannabis

You may be able to do some research without a research licence. As an adult, you may conduct cannabis research if:

• you possess no more than 30 g of dried cannabis or equivalent for research purposes
• you don't administer or distribute cannabis to a human participant or to an animal
• you don't conduct your research at a house, dwelling or address of a personal or designated grow site

If you meet the above criteria, you're allowed to do the following for the purposes of research:

• possess cannabis
• produce cannabis, other than by cultivating, propagating or harvesting. This includes altering or offering to alter the chemical or physical properties of cannabis by the use of an organic solvent
• distribute cannabis to analytical testing and research licence holders

Research licences generally do not authorize the sale of cannabis, except in specific circumstances where a researcher may be permitted by Health Canada to sell the physical product of their research (plants, seeds or pollen only). Distribution to other licence holders and selected individuals is permitted and is not considered sale. Distribution would include, for example, sending cannabis to another research licence holder who is a partner in a research project, or sending cannabis to an analytical testing licence holder for testing.

The tables below provide a summary of the stages and types of cannabis that research licence holders can sell (only if authorized by Health Canada) or distribute.

A cannabis drug licence allows you to work with drugs containing cannabis.

This licence also allows you to:

• possess cannabis
• produce a drug containing cannabis
• sell or distribute drugs containing cannabis

This licence doesn't allow you to sell packaged and labelled cannabis for medical purposes. Refer to Selling cannabis for medical purposes for more information.

You need to follow the Food and Drug Regulations, such as good manufacturing practices (GMP) requirements, to produce a drug containing cannabis. In certain cases, you'll also need a drug establishment licence (DEL) with your cannabis drug licence.

This licence doesn't allow you to administer cannabis to a human participant. If you want to do this, you may need to apply for a research licence.

The table below provides a summary of the drugs containing cannabis a holder of a cannabis drug licence can sell, distribute or receive.

For producing or selling other products containing cannabis such as veterinary health products, natural health products, cosmetics or medical devices, refer to Other licences or notifications.

An industrial hemp licence allows you to work with industrial hemp. Industrial hemp is a cannabis plant – or any part of that plant - that has a concentration of total THC that's 0.3% or less in its flowering heads and leaves.

This licence can also allow you to:

• grow industrial hemp (including propagation as a plant breeder)
• possess viable seed
• process industrial hemp, including:
  • rendering seed non-viable
  • preparing (conditioning) seed
• processing or making products from viable seed (such as hemp seed oil)
• sell industrial hemp. You can only sell flowering heads, leaves or branches of the industrial hemp to an industrial hemp or cannabis licence holder

You'll need a cannabis processing licence if you want to:

• make cannabis products from the flowering heads, leaves or branches of industrial hemp. This includes extracting CBD from flowering heads, leaves or branches of the industrial hemp
• use mature stalk to make cannabis products that contain isolated or concentrated phytocannabinoids

For producing or selling other industrial hemp products such as veterinary health products, natural health products, cosmetics or medical devices, refer to Other licences or notifications.

You need a cannabis licence to import or export cannabis. You can only import or export cannabis for medical or scientific purposes. You're strictly prohibited from importing and exporting cannabis for any other purpose (such as distributing for non-medical purposes). You'll also need to apply for an import or export permit (for each shipment) to import cannabis into Canada or export cannabis to other countries.

You need an industrial hemp licence to import or export industrial hemp (viable grains and seeds). You'll also need to apply for an import or export permit (for each shipment) to import industrial hemp into Canada or export industrial hemp to other countries.

To sell medical devices containing cannabis, you need a medical device licence with your cannabis licence.

Medical device establishment licence (MDEL) application: Instructions

Safe medical devices in Canada

Currently, natural health products can only contain parts of the cannabis plant that don't meet the definition of "cannabis" in the Act (for example, non-viable seeds) and must not contain more than 10 parts per million THC. You may need a natural health product licence to sell these products.

Example of a natural health product:

• hemp seed oil made from non-viable seeds

To sell veterinary health products containing cannabis, you need to submit a Notification form for veterinary health products to Health Canada must follow the criteria for cannabis sativa under List C: Veterinary health products.

Example of a cannabis veterinary health product:

• dog shampoo with hemp seed oil

To do certain activities with a cosmetic, you need to submit a cosmetic notification form to Health Canada.

Example of a cosmetic containing cannabis:

• lip balm made with hemp seed oil