CategorySpecial Feature

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all of our lives in ways both big and small; from wearing PPE around on our day-to-day dalliances to lining up outside the grocery stores to purchase household staples. And, for many Canadians, the closing of most international borders is a particularly harsh reminder of our new inconvenient reality – especially as we enter fall and with winter on fast...

Post-Recruitment Reflections The Ten Most Ridiculous Questions We Heard From This Year’s Interviews Your candidacy is not credible. I don’t believe that you’ll be at this firm in 5 years. This is a business firm and you clearly care about human rights. Wow, you read someone’s CV and have an idea of what they’ll be like, and then they walk through the curtain and it’s a total surprise!Will...

Originally Published November 15, 1976 L&L (OBITER DICTA – November 15, 1976) “Since”, they said “we are doing an issue on dope, and since”, they continued, “you are among the biggest dopes in the school, we thought maybe you might cover that topic in your column this week.” So here goes. I find that my views on dope (confined here to marijuana or...

Originally Published February 23, 2016 Justin Trudeau’s plan to legalize marijuana possession has created quite the stir in the last year or so, and frankly, it’s about time we unscheduled the stuff. I don’t actually have much of a dog in this particular fight. I’m not going to be a blatant liar and say I don’t ever partake, but to say legalization would have any impact on my day-to-day life...

Data from Health Canada Health Canada collects data on cannabis under the Cannabis Tracking System Ministerial Order. The Order and the Cannabis Act came into force on October 17, 2018. The following information reflects recent highlights pulled from Health Canada’s public resources on cannabis. Total sales of dried cannabis increased from 21,616 kilograms between January and March 31, 2019 to...

Originally Published November 12, 2012 On November 6th, Colorado and Washington became the first jurisdictions in North America to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in Amendment 64 and Initiative 502, respectively. Colorado has also experienced an increasing boom in its medical marijuana industry in recent years as the movement shifts from one being advocated by youth with dreads and B.O...

2300 BC: According to the contents of wooden bowls excavated from a burial mound, people in what is now Northwestern China are burning cannabis and inhaling the smoke to obtain its psychoactive effects. 1606: The first crop of cannabis is planted in Canada by an apothecary accompanying Samuel de Champlain. Instead of smoking, the plant is used to make rope, cloth and paper for colonial purposes...

Canada’s largest cannabis producers have been whittled away on the public markets to a fraction of what they once were. The largest firm by market capitalization, Canopy Growth Corporation (WEED.TO), had a 52-week high of $76.68. At the time of writing, the stock sits battered at $25.67. Similarly, Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO) saw a 52-week high of $16.24, and has since fallen to a mere $4.86 per...

CannTrust has recently had its production and sale license suspended by Health Canada. CannTrust can continue to cultivate and harvest as the suspension is only partial. The suspension is the result of Health Canada’s investigation into CannTrust for growing over ten thousand kilograms of cannabis in unlicensed rooms between October 2018 and March 2019. Numerous media outlets reported that the...

The authors practice in the Toronto office of Torys LLP and are members of the cannabis law practice group.  Two of the authors (Eileen McMahon and Sue Fei) are alumnae of Osgoode Hall. The editors of Obiter Dicta have asked them a few questions regarding Canada’s legalized cannabis industry one year on, and their reactions follow. Question:  We’re now upon the 1-year anniversary of...

Cannabis has been legal in Canada for the past year, and the success of the retail store roll-out varied significantly between the provinces. In Ontario, the roll-out has been rocky, and had entirely excluded First Nation communities for its first nine months. Even now, the inclusion of First Nations is limited to eight stores in arbitrarily...

Assessing Blueprints for Combating the Black Market A significant public policy rationale for legalizing cannabis retail has been the elimination of the cannabis black market. The desirability of eliminating the black market has, in turn, been driven by the public health objectives of preventing sales to minors and ensuring product safety. In Canada, cannabis retail has been placed within the...

Introduction  In Canada, vaping is currently regulated under the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (the “TVPA”). After October 17, 2019, vaping will also be regulated under the Cannabis Act (the “Act”). These pieces of legislation, together with their accompanying regulations, are aimed at protecting public health and safety, with a focus on deterring young persons from using and depending on...

Health Canada unveiled its Final Regulations for New Cannabis Products: Edible Cannabis, Cannabis Extracts and Cannabis Topicals (the “Regulations”), addressing and permitting the production and sale of edible cannabis, cannabis extracts, and cannabis topicals. The Regulations highlight the Government of Canada’s three main concerns: (i) the potential for cannabis products to be overly appealing...

By Nader Hasan & Daniel Weiss, both associates at Norton Rose Fulbright’s Toronto office. With support from Vanessa Grant, partner. The regulatory regime governing cannabis for recreational purposes in Canada is now a year old, but it is still in a state of constant evolution, especially with edibles and other related products which become legal earlier this month.  Since the legislation...

In June 2019, the federal government launched a consultation to seek feedback on the introduction of a new category of health products with cannabis, referred to as cannabis health products (CHPs). If implemented, this regime would have the potential to create a new market for cannabis products in Canada, especially given the recent interest in using cannabidiol (CBD)-based products for minor...

Russell Hall – Davies LLP State of the Industry On October 17, 2019 Canada celebrated the one year anniversary of the coming into force of the Cannabis Act and the legalization of cannabis for recreational purposes. The first year of legalization was met with boundless optimism, but was ultimately fraught with challenges ranging from nationwide supply shortages, corporate scandal, product...

Why the World Anti-Doping Agency Needs to Clear Up the Status of Cannabis in Sport While many Canadians can say the legalization of cannabis has impacted their lives in some way, athletes who represent the country are not one of them, with the sporting world’s governing bodies hesitant to adapt their drug policies. Canada’s Anti-Doping Program (CADP) has made it clear to both amateur and...

With exam season quickly approaching, assignments, readings, and extra-curricular responsibilities beginning to pile-up, and stress levels around campus reaching critical mass, I think it is important for everyone to take a deep breath and provide ourselves with some perspective.  The importance of our performance as students in law school cannot be overstated, yet, to succeed academically...

Hispanic Heritage Month and Latin Restaurant Suggestions October is Hispanic Heritage Month. Take a break from midterms and OCIs to indulge in some Hispanic food around the GTA. From spicy Mexican tacos to gluten-free Venezuelan Arepas and rich Colombian soups, there is great variety. As background, in 2015, Bill 28 was given Royal Assent in Ontario and that proclaimed October to be Hispanic...