What Is the ACMPR License?

In 2016, Health Canada began accepting applications from Canadians who wanted to get a license to grow a limited amount of cannabis for their own medical purposes. Nothing has changed since then; you still need to get the ACMPR license if you want to start growing cannabis for your personal use indoors and outdoors.

Health Canada allows for four licenses per address, which means you can grow for yourself and three other people. You are not allowed to sell to the public and everything produced at the designated location can only go to the people that have licenses designated for that address.

Medical Cannabis Regulation Overview: MMAR, MMPR, and ACMPR

Marijuana Medical Access Regulations (MMAR)

Recreational cannabis use became legal in Canada in October 2018, but our history with medical cannabis can be traced back to 2001, and the implementation of the Marijuana Medical Access Regulations (MMAR).

The MMAR allowed individuals, who had authorization from their healthcare practitioner, to access dried marijuana for medical purposes, which either they or someone they designated grew their own marijuana plants. Or they could purchase it from a Health Canada supplier.

Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR)

In June 2013, the Canadian government implemented the Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR). This outlined conditions for how the commercial medical marijuana industry could responsibly produce and distribute cannabis for medical purposes.

But not everyone likes to smoke cannabis or have to go buy it from a licensed producer. In June 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada found that restricting the legal access to only dried cannabis from licensed producers was unconstitutional.

The courts found that Canadians with a medical need had a right to grow, use, and make other cannabis products. Out of this decision came the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations, or ACMPR.

Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations, or ACMPR

Similar to the MMPR, the ACMPR includes a framework for commercial production by licensed producers. It also sets guidelines allowing individual Canadians to register with a licensed producer, register with Health Canada to produce a specific amount of cannabis for their own medical purposes, or get someone else to grow the medical marijuana for them. 

Like most government regulations though, the ACMPR is not that cut and dry. Nor is it entirely easy to understand. That’s why we’ve compiled answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about the ACMPR and what you need to grow your own medical marijuana.

How Do You Get an ACMPR License?

There are a few steps you need to take to get an ACMPR license in Ontario or anywhere else in Canada. The first thing you need to do is speak with a doctor about getting a prescription. After getting a prescription from your doctor you need to fill out Health Canada’s ACMPR form.

Then, you need to submit the application to Health Canada. Health Canada will register your prescription and send you your license. Once you receive it, you are now legally allowed to grow medical marijuana at your home.

This process can be confusing, and it can take a while to hear back from Health Canada. The wait time to get your ACMPR license processed can vary anywhere from six weeks to a number of months.

How Much Does an ACMPR License Cost?

Currently, there are no direct licensing fees associated with getting an ACMPR prescription. That’s because doctors and qualified health practitioners cannot charge you to get a prescription or ACMPR license. That said, a doctor can only write you a prescription for medical cannabis for a maximum of one year.

Clinics might charge an administrative fee for filling out the documents and submitting them on your behalf. Unless you go through your physician, you are almost always going to pay an administrative fee.

If you want to grow your own medical cannabis at home, the team at Medical Marijuana Consulting (MMC) can help you apply for a Grow Your Own License with Health Canada. Where most clinics, charge a fee based on the number of plants, the prescription, or take a tiered approach, MMC charges a flat fee for all prescription sizes. The fee for the first authorization is $199 and $99 for the annual renewal.

How Many Marijuana Plants Can You Grow with an ACMPR License?

Now that recreational cannabis use is legal in Canada, there is some confusion about how many marijuana plants you can grow with an ACMPR license. Recreational cannabis users can only legally grow four plants.

For medical marijuana patients, there is, technically, no limit. This doesn’t mean you can grow as much cannabis as you like though. The amount you can grow under an ACMPR license depends on the prescription and your personal medical needs. The higher the prescription, the more plants you can grow.

For example, if you get a prescription for 20 grams, you can grow up to 100 plants. Or, if the prescription is for 95 grams per day, you can legally grow up to 463 plants.

Do You Have to Renew an ACMPR license?

Your ACMPR license needs to be renewed every year. You use the same application form as the one you used to get your original license, the only difference is, you check the box for “Renewal” as opposed to “New Application.”

Visiting your doctor and getting a new prescription is the easy part. Waiting on Health Canada is another matter. Finding the right medical marijuana consulting clinic can make the process of obtaining and renewing your ACMPR quicker.  

MMC, Making Access to Medical Cannabis Simple

If you want to grow your own medical marijuana at home, Medical Marijuana Consulting (MMC) can help you get your Health Canada ACMPR license. In fact, with MMC, we make the process of getting your ACMPR license more streamlined and efficient.

A trusted name in medical cannabis consulting, MMC helps patients from across Canada get access to medical professionals who are experts on medical marijuana. Our team of physicians, psychiatrists, and nurse practitioners can provide a prescription, offer you help to get you coverage for your prescription costs (if eligible), refer you to a licensed producer, and help you apply for the ACMPR license.

At MMC, we want to make access to medical cannabis as simple as possible for as many people as possible. Join our Ambassador Program and receive $15 for every person you refer to MMC that becomes a patient.

To learn more about Medical Marijuana Consulting and how you can secure a prescription as part of your personalized medical cannabis treatment plan, book a consultation online, contact us at 844-312-5143, or by email at patientcare@medmc.ca.