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Editorial: Testing for safety

As long as marijuana remains illegal in Canada, we are trapped in a grey area that takes away our power as consumers.

As long as marijuana remains illegal in Canada, we are trapped in a grey area that takes away our power as consumers.

All Canadians should have the right to know what is in the products they buy, yet because of Health Canada’s insistence that it is illegal for dispensaries or consumers to test marijuana products it also deems illegal, we are unable to find out if what we are buying is safe. Without requirements for unlicensed marijuana producers to test their products, Health Canada is also not ensuring product safety at the source.

An August Globe and Mail investigation entitled “What’s in your weed?” found that one third of samples collected from Toronto area dispensaries showed the presence of yeast and/or mould, potentially causing a variety of illnesses.

One of Health Canada’s 35 licensed producers, Nanaimo-based company Tilray, argued in the Globe and Mail report that the federal government has sat back and watched the dispensary industry flourish while not providing consumers any protection, or the ability to protect themselves.

According to Tilray, after providing test results from samples of dispensary marijuana showing the presence of pesticides not approved for humans, mould and high-levels of bacteria, Health Canada did not do anything.

Shortly after the Globe and Mail report was released, federal health minister Jane Philpott responded that Health Canada’s position on the risks of obtaining cannabis has not changed.

“These facilities are unlicensed by the federal government, illegally supplied, and sell a product that may be contaminated or otherwise unsafe,” she stated in a media release.

Philpott added that the federal government has repeatedly reminded the public that they should not purchase products from dispensaries, compassion clubs or other organizations it deems illegal.

Yet Health Canada turns a blind eye to the millions and millions of dollars worth of marijuana products sold at Canadian dispensaries every year.

It has been estimated that the more than 80 dispensaries in Vancouver alone sell between 80 and 240 pounds of marijuana product every 24 hours. Illegal or not, dispensaries are moving a huge amount of product through their shops on a daily basis.

That product should absolutely be tested for safety with all ingredients listed, and face the same scrutiny as any other medicine we buy on a store’s shelves.

Jason Schreurs, publisher/editor