Day 1: Thursday, June 7, 2018
Welcome and Introduction
John W. Conroy, QC — Conroy & Company, Abbotsford
What Is Canabis Marijuana? The Essentials
An Overview and Primer
- botany
- pharmacology
- acute and other impacts
Jonathan Page, PhD — Adjunct Professor, Department of Botany, University of BC, Vancouver
Break
Cannabis in Canada: The Past, Present, and Proposed Future
History of Prohibition to Date — Constitutional and Criminal Law
- the past to the present from 1908 to 2018 and some cases along the way
John W. Conroy, QC — Conroy & Company, Abbotsford
Canada's Public Health Approach to the Legalization and Regulation of Cannabis
- the Federal Government's public health approach towards a new legislative and regulatory framework
via video link
Nicholas McCandie Glustien — Associate Director, Policy, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, Cannabis Legalization and Regulation Branch, Health Canada, Ottawa
John Morales — Legal Counsel, Department of Justice, Ottawa
Networking Lunch
Cannabis Regulation in BC — Representatives from BC's Cannabis Legalization and Regulation Secretariat
In April 2017, the Government of Canada introduced the Cannabis Act and amendments to the Criminal Code to address cannabis impaired driving with plants to legalize non-medical cannabis in Canada. While the proposed Cannabis Act provides for the federal government to regulate production, provinces and territories will have the authority to regulate certain aspects like minimum age, public consumption, personal cultivation, possession limits, distribution, retail, and a range of other matters. Provincial staff will provide an update on BC's proposed regulatory framework for legalized non-medical cannabis.
David Poore — Legal Services Branch, Ministry of Attorney General, Victoria
Mary Shaw — Cannabis Legalization and Regulation Secretariat, Victoria
Break
Local Government Issues Arising: The Role and Impact on Local Governments
- zoning
- business licensing and regulation
- health and safety issues
- Board of Variance applications and judicial reviews
- the Vancouver injunction enforcement test case and other litigation filed by local governments against dispensaries
Sukhbir Manhas — Young Anderson, Vancouver
Q & A Closing Panel
John W. Conroy, QC — Conroy & Company, Abbotsford
Kirk I. Tousaw — Tousaw Law Corporation, Duncan
Day 2: Friday, June 8, 2018
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 Sections, 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