Legalization of Cannabis- Update 2

On November 16, 2018, the Cannabis Licence Act, 2018, S.O. 2018, c. 12, Sched.2, and its regulations (the “Act”) were proclaimed in force. On that day, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) became the regulator of private recreational cannabis retailing in Ontario.

The Government of Ontario has set up a licensing and regulatory framework to regulate private retail of recreational cannabis, to be established by April 1, 2019. The Act states that stores can be open any day between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m., but they must be at least 150 metres away from schools and bar entry to anyone under 19 years old. A market concentration limit of 75 stores per operator has been set. Applications for licences will begin on Dec. 17 and illegal cannabis retailers who were operating after legalization on Oct. 17 will not be eligible to receive cannabis sales licences.

Until April 1, 2019, cannabis can only be legally purchased from the online Ontario Cannabis Store.

The AGCO will be publishing a Cannabis Retail Regulation Guide on-line. This will be a comprehensive guide that will include relevant information about cannabis regulation in one location. The guide will include topics such as:

• The Cannabis Licence Act, 2018 and its regulations
• The Registrars Standards, which will govern the operation of retail stores
• Licence and authorization types, the application process and fees
• The one-time option municipalities have to prohibit cannabis stores from operating in their jurisdiction
• The public notice process related to the authorization of retail stores
• AGCO inspections to ensure store readiness
• The mandatory training that all cannabis store employees will have to successfully complete

The current link to the AGCO’s cannabis regulation infographic can be found here: https://www.agco.ca/sites/default/files/cannabis_landscape_0.pdf

Blog post written by Matteson Deluca, Associate lawyer.

The picture used in this blog is titled “The Pink Palace (again!)” and is copyright 2010 by Benson Kua and made available under a Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License (CC BY-SA 2.0)