Eligibility requirements to produce your own medical cannabis

You can grow cannabis yourself to use for your own medical purposes as long as you follow the guidelines and registration procedures established by Health Canada under the Cannabis Act. You must meet the following requirements:

• live in Canada,
• be 18 or older,
• not been convicted of a cannabis related offence, and
• not be registered more than once at any time

Registration with Health Canada under the Cannabis Act

If you meet the requirements to grow medical cannabis, you can register to either:

• grow cannabis yourself, or
• designate a person to grow cannabis for you

The following is a simplified explanation of the 3-step registration process.

1. Obtain a medical document 

Your health care practitioner can issue you a medical document if they agree that you have symptoms, or a condition could benefit from the use of medical marijuana.  For more information, refer to How to obtain a medical marijuana document (prescription).

2. Register with Health Canada

If you plan to produce the cannabis yourself, submit the following by mail to Health Canada

• A completed Production of Cannabis for Own Medical Purposes registration form
• The original medical document provided by your health care provider

If you want to designate someone else to produce the cannabis, submit the following by mail to Health Canada

• A completed Production of Cannabis for Own Medical Purposes by a Designated Person registration form
• The original medical document provided by your health care practitioner;
• A declaration from the person you have designated to produce cannabis on your behalf;
• Additional information from the designated person including name, address and date of birth, and a police clearance confirming they have not been convicted of an offence under section 311(2) of the Cannabis Regulations in the last 10 years; and
• A signed and dated declaration of consent from the person who owns the site where the cannabis will be produced if you do not own the site, and it is not your place of residence

3. Receive a Registration Certificate

If your registration package is complete and you meet all the requirements, Health Canada will approve your registration and send you a Registration Certificate. This Certificate permits you to legally produce cannabis for medical purposes.

If you have registered for a designated person, you will receive a Registration Certificate, and they will be sent their own confirmation document.

How to obtain cannabis for your own production

Once you have received an authorization certificate from Health Canada, you can register with a federally licensed producer (LP) to obtain cannabis starting materials to produce products for your own medical use, including:

• cannabis plants
• seeds

You can choose a provider from Health Canada’s list of Authorized licensed cultivators, processors and sellers.

For more information on ordering starting materials to product your own medical marijuana, visit canada.ca.

Previous registration under the ACMPR

The Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR) was repealed and replaced with the Cannabis Act. Registrations for patients under the ACMPR have transitioned automatically to the Cannabis Act; and the registrations have kept their existing expiry date (unless the registration is cancelled for other reasons)

Visit Health Canada for complete registration requirements and instructions for growing your own medical marijuana, and for online registration forms.

If you have a medical document from your health care practitioner for medical marijuana, refer to How to order medical marijuana.

Get help

To erase your criminal record for simple cannabis possession or any other criminal charges, call toll-free 1-888-808-3628 or learn more at Pardon Partners. It’s easier than you think.

If you have been charged with a criminal offence, it is important to hire an experienced criminal defence lawyer as soon as possible. Contact our preferred criminal defence expert, Calvin Barry Criminal Lawyers for a free consultation at 416-938-5858 .

								
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