In January, UBCM’s Cannabis Policy Technical Working Group met with Health Canada regarding the personal and dedicated production of medical cannabis and associated local government concerns. Following this discussion, Health Canada has advised of an opportunity for other local governments to request similar meetings.
UBCM’s members have endorsed numerous resolutions related to the personal and dedicated production of cannabis for medical purposes, outlining concerns related to issues such as information sharing, compliance with local building and fire safety requirements, and enforcement duties performed by Health Canada. All of these issues were raised by the Technical Working Group.
Other issues discussed included federal security requirements, Health Canada enforcement resources, and Health Canada’s work to address unusually high authorizations for the personal and dedicated production of cannabis for medical purposes.
Local governments wishing to discuss these or other issues related to the medical cannabis system are asked to email Health Canada to request a meeting.
UBCM continues to seek additional local government staff representatives for the Cannabis Policy Technical Working Group. The Working Group was established by the UBCM Executive in November 2019 to consult with the provincial government regarding new and ongoing policy and technical issues. Interested local government staff members are asked to contact Bhar Sihota, UBCM Senior Policy Analyst.