Difference between a narcotic controlled drug and restricted drug in Canadian law

• Harrison Jordan
• Blog
• December 26, 2023

What’s the difference between a narcotic, a controlled drug and a restricted drug?

Health Canada uses the term ‘controlled substance’ for “any type of drug that the federal government has categorized as having a higher-than-average potential for abuse or addiction.”

But when it comes to each particular drug and how it can be sold, there are a number of different regulations, one of which will be applicable.

Generally, controlled substances in Canada are regulated under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (“CDSA”). A controlled substance may find itself in the Narcotics Control Regulations (if it’s considered a “narcotic”), or in Part G of the Food and Drug Regulations (if a “controlled drug”) or Part J of the same regulations (a “restricted drug”). There’s even a regulation just for benzodiazapines.

Curiously, Part G and J of the FDRs are found under the Food and Drugs Act but “take authority” from the CDSA.

All these substances generally require a dealer’s licence with Health Canada.

Restricted drugs, such as LSD, psilocybin, and MDMA, can’t be produced for retail sale, and can generally only be provided to clinical trials or persons exempted by the Minister from the Act, called a Section 56 exemption.

Restricted drugs were added in 2022 to the list of drugs that can be sought by physicians to treat ’emergencies’ of particular patients, and such physicians, their agents, pharmacists and hospital employees were granted a class section 56 exemption by the Minister of Health to facilitate authorized access.

The vast majority of other controlled substances can generally be produced in dosage form for eventual retail sale, however they must hold a Drug Establishment Licence for the activities they wish to conduct.

There are differences in each regulation in terms of whether doctors’ prescriptions, refill and transfer orders can be verbal or must be written, but the federal government issued class exemptions under Section 56 of the CDSA so that there was parity.

Interestingly, Health Canada is proposing to consolidate all these different regulations into a single new regulation for controlled substances, and will, among other things, codify many of these section 56 class exemptions into regulation.

Canadians will have the opportunity to provide comments on the regulatory proposal during the Canada Gazette, Part I public comment period, which is expected to take place in spring 2024 and last 70 days.