Cannabis Act amendments, making edibles legal, come into effect today

Amendments to the Cannabis Act, which came into effect Oct. 17, will see the addition of cannabis edibles, extracts and topicals to products provided for sale through provincial retailers and federal medical producers

Yorkregion.com
October 17, 2019
Barbara-Ann MacEachern

While the production and sale of cannabis edibles, extracts and topicals is legal as of Oct. 17, don’t expect to be able to get your hands on them for a few months yet.

The amended regulations to the Cannabis Act, which came into effect exactly a year ago, were announced this summer, making it legal for provincial retailers and federally licensed medicinal sellers to provide edible, topical and cannabis extract products. The new regulations place limits of 10 mg of THC per package for edibles and 1,000 mg of THC per package of cannabis extract (for ingesting or inhaling) and cannabis topical (for applying to skin, hair or nails). None of the above products can have added vitamins or minerals, they all must be in child-resistant, plain packaging and must not make health claims or be appealing to children. Cannabis edibles, extracts and topicals must all be labelled with a standardized cannabis symbol, indicate THC content and a health warning message. For a full list of product-specific regulations, see Health Canada’s website.

“The amended regulations are the next step in our process to reduce the risks to public health and safety from edible cannabis, cannabis extracts and cannabis topicals and displace the illegal market for these products in Canada,” wrote the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction, in a press release this summer.

Health Canada says the new varieties of cannabis products will likely not be available in licensed stores and online until mid-December or later. In addition to public education, federal licence holders need to give Health Canada 60 days' notice of their intent to sell new products while processors will need time to become familiar with and adhere to the new rules to produce the new products.

“Start low and go slow, because edibles do take several hours to take effect,” is the advice of Cathy MacDonald, who is the Substances and Harm Reduction co-ordinator with the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit.

MacDonald is currently part of a group creating an awareness campaign regarding the amended legislation, and edibles in particular. She says even regular cannabis users may run a greater risk of overdosing when it comes to edibles, because they have a delayed effect. She worries that users may end up eating more before the effects of the initial dose even hit, increasing the risk of taking too much and having a negative reaction.

“The messaging around edibles will be first of all protecting our children and pets,” adds Hallie Atter, manager of the Family and Community Health Team at Peterborough Public Health.

“Making sure that the cannabis products, especially those that might look appealing to children, are kept in safe places.”

Atter adds that children are particularly susceptible to cannabis poisoning due to their lighter weight and the fact that they don’t have any concept of what they are eating. She says risks to children include motor impairment, tremors, anxiety and even coma.

“It just seems to be an evolving topic as these products come out,” MacDonald says of the health unit’s ongoing education efforts within the community.