Data on cannabis for medical purposes
Health Canada collects and publishes data on cannabis used for medical purposes under the Cannabis Act, the Cannabis Regulations, and the Cannabis Tracking System Order. An overview can be found on this page.
More detailed data on cannabis for medical purposes and data on cannabis import and export permits can be found on Open Government at the following links:
Additional data on cannabis is available on the cannabis research and data page. In particular, the amount of cannabis sold by federal licence holders for medical purposes is published on a quarterly basis and is available on the cannabis market data page.
On this page
- Definitions
- Data on medical client registrations
- Data on daily amounts authorized by health care practitioners
- Refusals and revocations
- Import and export of cannabis for scientific or medical purpose
Figures provided in this update reflect data reported through the Cannabis Tracking System or collected in the administration of the Cannabis Regulations. Verification and validation of this data is ongoing. As such, the data is subject to revision.
Definitions
- Active licence holder client registrations
- Number of registrations with licensed sellers of cannabis for medical purposes that were active at the end of each month. Patients can be registered with more than one licensed seller and with Health Canada provided an original medical document was used with each registration.
- Active personal/designated production registrations
- Persons actively registered at the end of each month with Health Canada to produce cannabis for their own medical purposes, or designate someone to produce it for them.
- Authorized amount
- Daily quantity of cannabis, expressed in grams of dried cannabis per day, authorized by a registrant's health care practitioner.
- Health care practitioners
- Physicians or nurse practitioners authorized to issue medical documents to patients in their jurisdiction of practice.
- Refusals
- Cases in which Health Canada deems an individual ineligible to be registered for personal or designated production under the provisions of Part 14 of the Cannabis Regulations.
- Revocations
- Cases in which Health Canada revokes an individual's registration for personal or designated production under the provisions of Part 14 of the Cannabis Regulations.
Data on medical client registrations
Under the Cannabis Act, individuals with a medical document signed by a health care practitioner can purchase cannabis for medical purposes directly from a federally licensed seller. Individuals may also register with Health Canada to produce cannabis for their own medical purposes or designate someone to produce it on their behalf.
The majority of individuals who access cannabis for medical purposes under the Cannabis Act and its regulations do so by obtaining quality-controlled cannabis from a federally licensed seller of cannabis for medical purposes. The average daily amount authorized by health care practitioners for these individuals who access from federally licensed sellers has ranged between 2.0 and 2.6 grams per day since the coming into force of the Cannabis Act in October 2018. This average daily authorized amount is in line with published evidence and guidance about the use of cannabis for medical purposes. Scientific evidence suggests that most patients who use cannabis for medical purposes use up to 3 grams per day of dried cannabis, though amounts under 1 gram per day are used with perceived benefits and decreased risk of side effects.
With respect to the smaller number of individuals registered with Health Canada for personal or designated production, the average daily authorized amount for these individuals is well above the amount suggested in available guidance and evidence. Health Canada is concerned that high daily authorized amounts are, in a few instances, leading to misuse of the access to cannabis for medical purposes framework and are undermining the integrity of the system that many patients – and health care practitioners – rely on to access cannabis to address their medical needs. While treatment options remain a decision best made in consultation between a patient and their health care practitioner, high daily authorized amounts may pose risks to public health and safety, including the risk of cannabis being diverted to the illicit market.
The number of individuals registered with Health Canada for personal and designated production of cannabis for their own medical purposes decreased 16% between March 2023 and March 2026.
View accessible format
| Date | Registrations with federal licence holders | Registrations for personal and designated production |
|---|---|---|
| March 2023 | 230,697 | 19,076 |
| June 2023 | 203,993 | 16,778 |
| September 2023 | 188,301 | 14,944 |
| December 2023 | 183,909 | 13,672 |
| March 2024 | 189,878 | 15,726 |
| June 2024 | 179,931 | 16,609 |
| September 2024 | 174,500 | 16,096 |
| December 2024 | 160,705 | 15,767 |
| March 2025 | 161,267 | 11,304 |
| June 2025 | 160,298 | 9,691 |
| September 2025 | 160,510 | 9,447 |
| December 2025 | 156,270 | 9,736 |
| March 2026 | 153,207 | 9,856 |
Data on daily amounts authorized by health care practitioners
The amount of cannabis an individual is authorized to possess or produce for medical purposes is determined by their health care practitioner and is expressed as a daily authorized amount. The daily authorized amount determines how much cannabis the individual may possess in public or, if they register with Health Canada, how much cannabis they may produce (or designate someone to produce on their behalf) for their own medical purposes.
Health care practitioners are expected to make authorization decisions justified by the condition for which their patient is receiving treatment and which are grounded in available evidence.
Health care practitioners are regulated by provincial/territorial medical regulatory (licensing) authorities. Most provincial and territorial medical regulatory bodies have their own set of standards and guidelines for members, which may include codes of practice related to authorizing cannabis for medical purposes. As a result, authorization practices and the use of cannabis for medical purposes may vary among provinces and territories.
Health Canada publishes information for health care practitioners on its website. This includes the Information on the use of cannabis for medical purposes which provides information regarding dosing of cannabis for medical purposes, and Information for health care professionals: Cannabis and cannabinoids, a comprehensive monograph on the pharmacology, potential therapeutic uses and risks of using cannabis for medical purposes.
View accessible format
| Date | Average daily authorized amount of dried cannabis for active clients registered with federal licence holders | Average daily authorized amount of cannabis for personal or designated production of cannabis |
|---|---|---|
| March 2023 | 2.4 | 35.5 |
| June 2023 | 2.3 | 34.0 |
| September 2023 | 2.3 | 32.8 |
| December 2023 | 2.4 | 33.0 |
| March 2024 | 2.4 | 34.4 |
| June 2024 | 2.4 | 34.6 |
| September 2024 | 2.5 | 35.4 |
| December 2024 | 2.5 | 35.3 |
| March 2025 | 2.5 | 33.4 |
| June 2025 | 2.5 | 28.5 |
| September 2025 | 2.6 | 22.6 |
| December 2025 | 2.6 | 18.7 |
| March 2026 | 2.6 | 17.5 |
View accessible format
| Date | Number of health care practitioners authorizing personal or designated production of cannabis for medical purposes | Number of health care practitioners authorizing personal or designated production of cannabis for medical purposes – 25 grams per day or above |
|---|---|---|
| March 2023 | 1,185 | 259 |
| June 2023 | 1,089 | 243 |
| September 2023 | 993 | 226 |
| December 2023 | 941 | 222 |
| March 2024 | 1,015 | 233 |
| June 2024 | 1,010 | 232 |
| September 2024 | 1001 | 227 |
| December 2024 | 980 | 220 |
| March 2025 | 764 | 169 |
| June 2025 | 650 | 127 |
| September 2025 | 603 | 99 |
| December 2025 | 615 | 80 |
| March 2026 | 613 | 58 |
Refusals and revocations
The medical access framework exists to ensure that patients have reasonable access to the cannabis they need. Health Canada is aware that in some cases, this framework is misused and cannabis is being diverted into the illegal market. Health Canada engages with law enforcement agencies and provincial and territorial licensing authorities to ensure compliance with Cannabis Regulations. Using authorities under the Cannabis Regulations, Health Canada has taken actions to strengthen oversight of the medical access program and address challenges with personal and designated production (PDP). Health Canada has the authority to refuse a personal or designated production application or revoke an active registration if it is likely to create a risk to public health or public safety. More information on the factors which may be considered in assessing the risk to public health or public safety can be found in Health Canada’s Guidance on personal production of cannabis for medical purposes.
View accessible format
| Date | Refusals and revocations | Refusals and revocations on the grounds of public health and safety |
|---|---|---|
| March 2023 | 1,604 | 1,008 |
| June 2023 | 2,115 | 1,511 |
| September 2023 | 2,458 | 1,858 |
| December 2023 | 2,995 | 2,390 |
| March 2024 | 3,729 | 3,130 |
| June 2024 | 3,948 | 3,310 |
| September 2024 | 4,043 | 3,390 |
| December 2024 | 4,085 | 3,428 |
| March 2025 | 4,150 | 3,488 |
| June 2025 | 4,211 | 3,546 |
| September 2025 | 4,708 | 4,036 |
| December 2025 | 5,145 | 4,449 |
| March 2026 | 5,714 | 4,883 |
Import and export of cannabis for scientific or medical purposes
Health Canada regulates the import and export of cannabis. Under the Cannabis Act, it is prohibited to export or import cannabis for any purposes other than medical or scientific purposes or in respect of industrial hemp.
Data on import and export of cannabis authorized under the Cannabis Regulations is available on Open Government.
One permit is issued per shipment. A permit may allow for multiple forms of cannabis to be imported or exported in the same shipment. The data published on Open Government presents the quantities permitted and endorsed by form of cannabis, not by permit.
Definitions
- Permitted quantities
- The amount of cannabis allowed for export or import by the export or import permits issued by Health Canada.
- Endorsed quantities
-
The actual amount of cannabis that was imported or exported as reported by licence holders. Under the Cannabis Regulations, the holder of an export or import permit must provide to the Minister of Health information related to the shipment, including the quantity of cannabis that was imported or exported, within 15 days after the date of exportation and importation of a shipment of cannabis.
Information on how licence holders can apply for an import or export permit can be found in the Importing and exporting cannabis guide.
Information on the limited circumstances under which Health Canada would consider the import or export of cannabis can be found in the Cannabis import and export bulletin.