With medical cannabis already legalized and recreational marijuana soon to follow in Canada, the topic of marijuana delivery comes up often. Because there are so many opportunities to purchase marijuana online, there can be some confusion in regards to the legality of online orders and delivery. Keep reading to learn more about marijuana delivery, whether it’s legal, and if you can use shipping and package forwarding services like ReShip as well.
Currently, the purchase of cannabis for medical purposes in Canada is legal under the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR). In order to legally buy medical cannabis, patients must get a valid prescription from their doctors. They also need to register with a Licensed Producer of medical cannabis.
Medical cannabis is strictly regulated by Health Canada to ensure public health and safety. As such, Licensed Producers must abide by stringent regulations to produce top notch cannabis products that come in forms such as dried cannabis, capsules, and oils.
Because these Licensed Producers are legally allowed to sell to registered patients, medical cannabis delivery across Canada is allowed based on certain conditions.
Owing to the strict regulations that Licensed Producers must adhere to, it should come as no surprise that the rules around medical cannabis delivery in Canada are also fairly strict. For example, one requirement that Licensed Producers must meet when shipping cannabis product is that they must do so in discreet packaging that also masks smell.
This is done in the interest of protecting the customer’s privacy and to reduce thefts. Furthermore, according to the Justice Laws website, they must also use a shipping method that provides tracking abilities to ensure the safekeeping of the package during transportation.
The short answer to this is no. This is because the ACMPR only permits residents of Canada to register as clients of Licensed Producers. And because Licensed Producers of medical cannabis have to comply with the ACMPR, they are not permitted to offer medical marijuana delivery to those who reside outside of the country.
With the advent of recreational cannabis legalization, the use of cannabis is growing in popularity. In recent years, there have been many online businesses and some dispensaries popping up that offer marijuana delivery services.
However, because recreational cannabis hasn’t officially been legalized in Canada, these marijuana delivery services aren’t legal.
There’s also often some confusion in regards to the legality of some medical marijuana dispensaries. While these companies may position themselves as medical dispensaries and offer medical cannabis delivery services, keep in mind that only those producers that are licensed by Health Canada are legally allowed to ship cannabis products to registered Canadian residents.
Thus, be aware that companies not listed on the government’s website are operating illegally.
While clients can use ReShip to forward most items, cannabis products aren’t permitted at this time. This is because medical cannabis is recognized as a prescription medication, which ReShip can’t legally forward. Furthermore, recreational cannabis is still illegal in Canada and many other countries. As such, we currently don’t offer any marijuana delivery or forwarding services
For a list of other items we aren’t permitted to ship, please check our list of prohibited or restricted materials.