Recent Changes to Cannabis Laws

On October 17, 2019, the Cannabis Regulations under the Cannabis Act were updated to establish rules for the legal production and sale of three new classes of cannabis: edible cannabis, cannabis extracts, and cannabis topicals (i.e. lotions). It is expected that these new products will be available to Canadians before the end of the year. What does this mean for condominiums? Many condominiums passed new rules in late 2017 and early 2018 to prohibit or restrict cannabis smoking on the property. In an attempt to balance the competing interests of the owners, the condominiums that chose to allow smoking normally required owners to take steps to ensure that their smoking did not unreasonably disturb the other owners. Previously, that would normally mean the owner had to decrease their smoking or stop completely since many of the products promising to prevent the transfer of smoke between units were ineffective. These products may provide opportunities to quickly, easily, and at minimal cost to the condominium address nuisance complaints regarding cannabis smoke.  Rather than smoking cannabis the owners will be able to consume cannabis in ways that are much less likely to disturb the other owners since these new products will soon be widely available for purchase in Ontario.