Health Canada announced yesterday that, effective immediately, all new applicants applying for a Cultivation, Processing or Sale for Medical Purposes Licence must have a fully built site that meets Health Canada requirements at the time of application.

Existing applicants who are under detailed review will receive a “Status Update Letter” by the end of June after a high-level review of the application by Health Canada. The high-level review is to assure applicants that Health Canada has no critical concerns with the proposal.

After receiving of the letter, the applicant has to complete building the facility, meeting all the regulatory requirements. After completion of the facility, Health Canada will review the application in detail based on the original application date. Health Canada is targeting a 60-day review time frame for the detailed review once the application has been picked up by a reviewer plus extra time for Request of More Information and its response.

No changes were announced for applicants who have received a Confirmation of Readiness Letter from Health Canada. In addition, if you have not updated your ACMPR application to the requirements under the Cannabis Act and Regulations und uploaded it to the CTLS system, you should do so as soon as possible as per Health Canada.

Health Canada has also published 3 new guidelines yesterday dealing with the Good Production Practices, security and the new application process.

Please contact us for any questions and concerns in regards to Health Canada’s announcement. We are happy to help with any application or good quality assurance questions.