Federal form
Medical cannabis document
Under the Cannabis Regulations, an authorized health care practitioner may issue a medical document so a patient can register with a licensed seller or Health Canada to obtain cannabis for medical purposes. This is not a provincial triplicate opioid prescription, not a licence to cultivate for a friend, and not advice on getting high. You are recording a professional authorization with specific required elements.
What the medical document is
The regulations require a written document from a practitioner who is entitled to practise in the province and who is authorized to treat the patient with cannabis. Licensed sellers and Health Canada registration use that document. A sticky note, a verbal “try some CBD,” or a screenshot of a dosing blog is not a medical document.
Health Canada does not publish one mandatory PDF layout. Clinics, vendors, and professional software print templates. The legal content still has to be there. Use a current template; do not reuse a pre-legalization “authorization” from 2017.
You are not a storefront
You authorize a daily quantity of dried cannabis (in grams) and a period of use. You do not pick a brand, a flavour, or a recreational product list. If you are not comfortable authorizing cannabis, do not sign. Referral to someone who is, if that exists in your group, is cleaner than a half-document.
Who may issue it
- A physician or nurse practitioner who is an authorized health care practitioner under the Cannabis Regulations and provincial rules — entitled to practise, and permitted to treat this patient with cannabis in that province.
- The patient must have consulted you. Do not issue a document from a portal message you never assessed.
- Stay inside your college’s cannabis standards. Some provinces add extra rules for NPs or for advertising.
- This is not a veterinarian document for a pet. Do not mix files.
Elements the regulations expect
Complete the current legal list from the Cannabis Regulations and Health Canada’s practitioner guidance — do not treat the following as a substitute for the regulation. In substance, the document identifies you (name, profession, business address, phone, provincial registration number), identifies the patient (name, date of birth), records where the consult took place, states a daily quantity of dried cannabis in grams, states a period of use (not longer than the maximum the regulations allow, commonly up to one year), includes your statement that the cannabis is for medical purposes for that patient, and is signed and dated.
- Daily quantity is dried-cannabis grams, not “a couple of gummies.” Other product types are converted from that daily dried amount by the seller’s rules.
- Period of use has a start and end. Open-ended authorizations are not how registration works.
- Keep a copy in the chart. The patient uses the document to register; you do not ship cannabis.
- If you stop following the patient, say how they get continuity. Do not leave an active document with no prescriber.
Document the medical reason in the chart even if the one-page document is short. Driving, occupational safety, pregnancy, psychosis risk, and other sedating drugs belong in the visit, not in a marketing pamphlet.
Worked example (fictional)
Medical document — chemotherapy-related nausea, oncology clinic
Fictional 54-year-old. Do not copy into a real medical document.
Practitioner: medical doctor, college number on the form, clinic address and phone. Patient: name and DOB as on the health card. Consult at this clinic 2026-08-28. Daily quantity of dried cannabis: 1 g/day. Period of use: 2026-08-28 to 2026-11-28 (90 days), then review. Medical purpose: refractory nausea during adjuvant chemotherapy after antiemetic protocol. Not authorizing for recreation. Not a licence to grow for a third party. Signed and dated by me. Copy in the chart. Patient will register with a licensed seller. I did not specify a brand.
Why documents are rejected at registration
- Missing practitioner registration number or business address.
- Quantity not in grams of dried cannabis.
- Period longer than the regulations allow, or no end date.
- Unsigned, or signed by someone who is not an authorized practitioner.
- Consult location missing, or the patient never actually saw you.
Draft the medical document from the visit
In Scribeberry, open Forms, search for medical cannabis document, or upload your clinic’s current PDF. Generate from the encounter and your notes, then review every required element before you sign. Scribeberry does not pre-map this form. You still review and sign. Scribeberry does not register the patient with Health Canada or a licensed seller.
Frequently asked questions
Is this a prescription I send to a pharmacy?
No. Cannabis for medical purposes is authorized by a medical document under the Cannabis Regulations. The patient registers with a licensed seller or Health Canada. Community pharmacies do not dispense this the way they dispense a DIN drug — unless a separate approved product applies.
Can a nurse practitioner sign?
If they are an authorized health care practitioner under the regulations and their provincial rules allow it. If not, do not sign.
Do I have to recommend a licensed seller?
No. You issue the document. The patient chooses a licensed seller or Health Canada’s registration route. Do not steer for a kickback.
Does Scribeberry file this with Health Canada?
No. Scribeberry helps you complete the PDF. The patient uses the signed document to register. Keep a copy in the chart.
Forms
