Cultivation
Cannabis is licensed for production per individual facility, where each facility requires a separate licence to cultivate cannabis (medical or recreational).
In Canada, the federal government permits both indoor (greenhouse, warehouse) and outdoor (farming) of cannabis as of late 2018.
The federal government does not dictate the growing method for cannabis, which allows for many different types of operations – e.g., aeroponics, hydroponics, traditional soil, aquaponic, vertical and stacked vertical. However, the finished product must pass analytical testing for chemical residues (including many pesticides) and microbial contaminants. This dictates a strong, disciplined approach to cultivation in order to avoid destruction of crops and/or recalling product from the market. Many licensed producers have experienced recalls and have lost considerable revenue opportunities as a result of poor practices. Regardless of the cultivation method, compliance to strict Good Production Practices (GPP) is a critical component to business success.
Establishing a disciplined cultivation program should borrow best practices from commercial horticulture, but with a careful collaboration with quality assurance practices. Regardless of the regulatory requirements domestically, many licensed producers are recruiting CCI to bring their cultivation practices into a higher discipline to mitigate commercial risks. The unique situation in Canada is that there are many thousands of experienced cannabis growers, but in our experience few of these have commercial cultivation experience.
Note that as of late 2018, cannabis production will no longer be restricted to large operations. The Micro Cultivation page in this section details the requirements for achieving a licence for craft/boutique production in a smaller facility. It should also be noted that nurseries are now being licensed under a new type of Nursery Licence.
The pages in this section discuss the general details around the various types of commercial facility licences in Canada. CCI offers best-in-class expertise in both achieving and maintaining compliance.
