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ACKRELL
CAPITAL
Cannabis Investment Report | December 2017

■ Global Legal Developments
Nations around the world have recently passed or are considering enacting an array of measures decriminalizing cannabis, legalizing it for medical use or, in a few cases, legalizing it for recreational use in contravention of the UN Conventions. The following discussion summarizes recent legal developments related to cannabis across different regions.

United States
Despite marijuana and THC being Schedule I controlled substances under the CSA—which, practically speaking, makes almost all manufacture, distribution, dispensing and possession of cannabis in the United States a federal crime—29 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have enacted medical cannabis laws that permit the production and possession of cannabis or concentrates for use in treating a broad range of qualifying medical conditions, and 8 of those same states have enacted recreational laws that permit the commercial production and sale of cannabis to adults for recreational and other uses. And 19 U.S. states (including 2 with medical cannabis laws) have passed narrow CBD/limited laws that permit possession of small amounts of low-THC/high-CBD cannabis concentrates for use in treating a few serious medical conditions—in particular, severe forms of childhood epilepsy. A majority of Americans now live in states that permit the production and possession of cannabis or concentrates for use in treating a broad range of qualifying medical conditions, and polls show that a majority of Americans believe cannabis use should be legal. For a more thorough discussion of U.S. state and federal law, see Chapter IV, U.S. Legal Landscape.

Canada
Canada’s Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) was enacted in 1996 and currently serves as the country’s implementing legislation under the UN Conventions. The CDSA establishes eight schedules of “controlled substances” and imposes civil and criminal penalties for production, trafficking, importing, exporting and possession of those controlled substances in violation of the CDSA. Cannabis, cannabis preparations and derivatives, and certain cannabinoids, including THC and CBD, are Schedule II substances under the CDSA. Those who commit CDSA violations related to Schedule II substances are subject to fines and imprisonment.

In a 2000 decision by the Court of Appeal for Ontario, the court held that certain criminal prohibitions under the CDSA related to cannabis were unconstitutional because they did not include a constitutionally acceptable medical exemption. Following this constitutional holding and acting within the framework of the CDSA, which allows for the issuance of regulations and exemptions thereunder, Canada issued a sequence of three medical marijuana regulations discussed below.

The Marihuana [sic] Medical Access Regulations (MMAR), issued in 2001, permitted individuals with the authorization of their health care practitioners to grow their own cannabis plants for medical purposes, to designate someone to grow cannabis for them or to purchase dry cannabis flower from Health Canada (the government agency charged with administering Canada’s medical cannabis regulations). The MMAR was successfully challenged on constitutional grounds and eventually replaced

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