Day 2: The New Cannabis Landscape 2018

Course Chair
John W. Conroy, QC — Conroy & Company, Abbotsford

About the Course Chair 
John W. Conroy, QC is a barrister and solicitor who graduated from the University of BC Law School in 1971 and was called to the BC bar in 1972. He has his own law firm, Conroy & Company, based in Abbotsford, BC and his practice is primarily as defence counsel in criminal matters with an additional focus on sentencing and post-sentencing matters which involves an extensive administrative law and constitutional law practice.

In January 1996, Mr. Conroy was appointed Queen's Counsel. In August 2005, he was awarded the Gold medal of the International Society for the Reform of the Criminal Law in recognition of his contribution to the goals of the Society. In 2012, he received the Queen's Diamond Jubilee medal. He was awarded the 2014 Liberty Award by the BC Civil Liberties Association for Excellence in Legal Advocacy. In 2015, he received from the Office of the Correctional Investigator for Canada, the Ed McIsaac Human Rights in Corrections Award.

On the cannabis issue, Mr. Conroy has been involved in numerous cannabis cases since 1972 including R. v. David Malmo-Levine, R. v. Smith, and Smith and Allard v. Canada.

Faculty
John W. Conroy, QC — Conroy & Company, Abbotsford 
Peter Edelmann — Edelmann and Company, Vancouver
Carolyn M. MacEachern — Young Anderson, Vancouver
Dr. Launette Rieb — Clinical Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of BC, Vancouver
Len Saunders — The Immigration Law Firm PLLC, Blaine, WA 
Laura Track — Community Legal Assistance Society, Vancouver
Joanna K. Wells — Counsel, Criminal Law Policy Section, Department of Justice, Ottawa
Scott Wilkins — MMIP Director, LMG Insurance Brokers Ltd., Duncan 
David Wood — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Calgary
Greg Yost — Counsel, Criminal Law Policy Section, Department of Justice, Ottawa 
Sara Zborovski — Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, Toronto 

Click here for full faculty bios »

Welcome and Introduction 

John W. Conroy, QC — Conroy & Company, Abbotsford 

Cannabis as Medicine

The Law From the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to the Cannabis Act—A Brief Overview 

• The Narcotic Control Act regulations and Compassion and Buyers Clubs in the courts — from Parker to Smith and Allard

John W. Conroy, QC — Conroy & Company, Abbotsford 

Cannabis and Health Law 

• background: current regulation of cannabis — the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and the Food and Drugs Act 
  • licensing
  • allowable product forms
• proposed regulation of health products containing cannabis
  • proposed product forms — drugs, natural health products, medical devices, cosmetics and edibles
• the future of the medical cannabis regime
  • continuation of the ACMPR
  • medical insurance coverage

via video link
Sara Zborovski — Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, Toronto

Marijuana for Medical Purposes: Weeding Through the Evidence 

• Cannabinoid Neurochemistry
• adverse health risks
• the literature on medical cannabinoids
• CFPC guidelines for "prescribing" dried cannabis

Dr. Launette Rieb — Clinical Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of BC, Vancouver 

Break

Cannabis and Impairment

An Overview Of the Drug-Impaired Driving Provisions of Bill C-46  

• this presentation will provide an overview of the proposed changes to the drug-impaired driving regime in Bill C-46, an Act to amend the Criminal Code (offences relating to conveyances) and to make consequential amendments to other Acts
• it will focus on the elements relating to approved drug screening equipment, the proposed blood drug concentration offences, including the underlying scientific foundation for these elements
• the presentation will also reference a number of elements with respect to the proposed changes to alcohol-impaired driving

via video link
Joanna K. Wells — Counsel, Criminal Law Policy Section, Department of Justice, Ottawa 
Greg Yost — Counsel, Criminal Law Policy Section, Department of Justice, Ottawa 

Consumption and Workplace Issues 

• employer's duty to accommodate — medical marijuana and employees with addiction
• designing workplace drug and alcohol policies — balancing risk, privacy, and the duty to accommodate
• asesssing impairment—challenges for employers, challenges for employees
• employee benefit plans—is exclusion of medical marijuana discriminatory?

Carolyn M. MacEachern — Young Anderson, Vancouver
Laura Track — Community Legal Assistance Society, Vancouver 

Lunch (on your own)

CannaBusiness Regulation

The Regulated Cannabis Industry: Serving a New Fixture of the Economy

David Wood — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Calgary 

Cannabis and Insurance Issues 

• insurance issues generally facing the cannabis industry, including medical marijuana coverage or the lack thereof
• insurance issues involving residences, businesses, etc. in terms of patient production and LP insurance issues and current trends
• insurance issues now arising pending legalization or in anticipation thereof that need to be considered by the insurance industry

Scott Wilkins — MMIP Director, LMG Insurance Brokers Ltd., Duncan 

Break

Cross Border Issues Part 1: The Canadian Perspective 

• issues under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act 
  • criminality and organized criminality
  • possession, production, and trafficking
  • impaired driving and related offences
• cross border issues with cannabis under the Customs Act 

Peter Edelmann — Edelmann and Company, Vancouver

Cross Border Issues Part 2: The US Perspective 

• Canadian companies doing business in the US
• admissions at the US border to smoking marijuana
• what the Canadian government hasn't warned you about the cannabis border issues

Len Saunders — The Immigration Law Firm PLLC, Blaine, WA 

Closing Remarks 

John W. Conroy, QC — Conroy & Company, Abbotsford