Canada: Ministry of Health authorizes imports of cannabis oil

The Canadian Ministry of Health now accepts individual requests to import cannabis oil such as Charlotte’s Web, a strain with a very high CBD content and low THC content intended for children with epilepsy, if it determines that the product «is necessary for scientific or medical purposes, or is in the public interest.».

Charlotte’s Web, produced in the United States, made headlines in Canada earlier this year when a shipment from the U.S. was held up at the border. The product was intended for 4-year-old Kyla Williams, for whom her grandmother had ordered some’cannabis oil.

Until then, it had been technically illegal to ship this product to Canada, but many Canadians—often for their children suffering from rare diseases such as Dravet syndrome—had been importing the oil from the United States for years.

Since August 2016, 13 licensed cannabis producers have been selling cannabis oil in accordance with strict quality and safety standards, and most offer products with a high concentration of cannabidiol and low concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol.

The Charlotte’s Web cannabis strain is one of the best known for its high CBD content, partly thanks to its coverage on CNN by Dr. Sanjay Gupta during the case Charlotte Figi. Its genetics are partly derived from a strain called R4, and its oil has THC levels below 0.5% and CBD levels of 17%.

While other similar CBD oils were already available on the Canadian market—either from official producers or on the «gray market»— the selection was limited, and parents who had seen their child’s condition improve with Charlotte’s Web would be reluctant to try other new strains—even if it meant continuing to break the law.