WHATFG
Well-Known Member
In recent days, the Globe and Mail has run a series of articles suggesting that Health Canada has failed to inform the public about unsafe cannabis sold through illegal dispensaries.
The basis for this assertion is a meeting held between my chief of staff and the former CEO of Tilray, a Nanaimo-based licensed producer of medical marijuana. At that meeting, Tilray expressed concerns about illegal dispensaries and shared the results of lab work suggesting contamination of cannabis. I was not present at the meeting, but I am informed that as the meeting concluded, the CEO provided a photocopy of six pages of lab results to my staff. I have confirmed that a copy was also provided to Health Canada employees.
We were told by Tilray that the source of the samples tested was illegal marijuana dispensaries. If the data is valid, the results are unsurprising. As Minister of Health, I have stated repeatedly that storefront dispensaries are illegal, and products sold there are untested and should not be used.
Our government has issued numerous statements to warn the public that they should not be purchasing products from dispensaries, compassion clubs or other illegal organizations and individuals. This includes a June 2016 statement that I issued with the Ministers of Public Safety and Justice, where we reminded the public that products in dispensaries are untested, unregulated and may be unsafe. Health Canada issued another statement earlier this week, to the same effect.
The recent coverage provided by the Globe and Mail bolsters our government’s position that Canadians who require marijuana for medical purposes should only be accessing it through Health Canada’s Cannabis for Medical Purposes program.
In the meantime, the Task Force on Marijuana Legalization and Regulation is currently seeking the best advice on how to legalize, strictly regulate and restrict access to marijuana in order to keep it out of the hands of youth and to keep profits out of the hands of criminals. We are looking forward to the final report of the Task Force later this year, which will inform our efforts to introduce effective, evidence-based legislation for consideration by Parliament in the spring of 2017.
Contacts
Media Relations
Health Canada
(613) 957-2983
The basis for this assertion is a meeting held between my chief of staff and the former CEO of Tilray, a Nanaimo-based licensed producer of medical marijuana. At that meeting, Tilray expressed concerns about illegal dispensaries and shared the results of lab work suggesting contamination of cannabis. I was not present at the meeting, but I am informed that as the meeting concluded, the CEO provided a photocopy of six pages of lab results to my staff. I have confirmed that a copy was also provided to Health Canada employees.
We were told by Tilray that the source of the samples tested was illegal marijuana dispensaries. If the data is valid, the results are unsurprising. As Minister of Health, I have stated repeatedly that storefront dispensaries are illegal, and products sold there are untested and should not be used.
Our government has issued numerous statements to warn the public that they should not be purchasing products from dispensaries, compassion clubs or other illegal organizations and individuals. This includes a June 2016 statement that I issued with the Ministers of Public Safety and Justice, where we reminded the public that products in dispensaries are untested, unregulated and may be unsafe. Health Canada issued another statement earlier this week, to the same effect.
The recent coverage provided by the Globe and Mail bolsters our government’s position that Canadians who require marijuana for medical purposes should only be accessing it through Health Canada’s Cannabis for Medical Purposes program.
In the meantime, the Task Force on Marijuana Legalization and Regulation is currently seeking the best advice on how to legalize, strictly regulate and restrict access to marijuana in order to keep it out of the hands of youth and to keep profits out of the hands of criminals. We are looking forward to the final report of the Task Force later this year, which will inform our efforts to introduce effective, evidence-based legislation for consideration by Parliament in the spring of 2017.
Contacts
Media Relations
Health Canada
(613) 957-2983
