A federal license from Health Canada is required to cultivate, process and sell cannabis for medical or non-medical purposes. One of the public concerns regarding these licenses is mitigating odours from Cannabis related activities. This blog highlights the Good Production Practices to address and minimize potential odour impacts to the public.
According to the Cannabis Licensing Application Guide (the “Guide”), as part of the licensing application process, the applicant is required to provide a Good Production Practices (GPP) Report that clearly demonstrates how the GPP requirements will be met. GPP compliance may be verified at any time by Health Canada.
Of particular note, the October 2019 amendment to Part 5 Section 85 of Cannabis Regulations, states that any building, or part of a building, where cannabis or anything that will be used as an ingredient is produced, packaged, labelled, stored or tested must be equipped with a system that;
filters air to prevent the escape of odours associated with cannabis plant material to the outdoors;
provides natural or mechanical ventilation with sufficient air exchange to provide clean air and to remove unclean air in order to prevent the contamination of the cannabis or thing that will be used as an ingredient;
is accessible and, if necessary for its cleaning, maintenance or inspection, is capable of being disassembled;
is capable of withstanding repeated cleaning; and
functions in accordance with its intended use.
In the list of elements to demonstrate that GPP are applied, the Guide mentions “Description of air filtration system, including type, specifications, number and location of air filters installed (e.g., HEPA, carbon, charcoal, combination, portable filters) and a diagram and/or floor plan detailing the air filtration and ventilation system (e.g., air intake and air exhaust locations and direction of air flow within the building(s))”. Demonstrating compliance is the responsibility of the applicant.
The Guide also states “prior to submitting an application, applicants for licenses to cultivate, process and sell for medical purposes (with possession of cannabis) must provide with their application a copy of the written notice to local authorities who are located in the area of the proposed site, as part of their application”. Hence, local governments/municipalities play a vital role in regulating nuisance issues such as odours and noise at the community level. In addition, the Municipal Guide to Cannabis Legalization, April 2018, encourages local governments to focus efforts on proper use and operation of the odour control equipment and opt for proactive approaches to cannabis-related odour and nuisance abatement. This guide will be discussed further in a future blog posting. As an example, odour impact assessments and control plans might be included in requirements for rezoning applications or development approvals. Zoning setbacks, landscaping, buffers or similar requirements may be considered for certain types of facilities that are anticipated to cause odour or other nuisances.
For a successful cannabis license application It is imperative to demonstrate that odours or odour causing Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from the cannabis facilities will be adequately considered and controlled, if necessary,. Apart from more traditional carbon air filtration systems, there are various alternate odour control solutions (e.g. odour neutralization systems, ionization tube systems, ultra-violet technologies, etc.) which can be designed to meet the specific requirements of each facility.. It is worth noting that Public Health Ontario and Metro Vancouver refer to these alternate solutions as potential odour control options in their publications.
In summary, to help maximize the chance of a success, your Cannabis Licensing Application should demonstrate that Good Production Practices will be following which includes specific measures to address and minimize potential odour impacts.
Please contact info@ortech.ca for further information. We’d be happy to help.
