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Medical marijuana firms discussed using banned pesticides
Grant Robertson And Mike Hager
TORONTO/VANCOUVER — The Globe and Mail
Published Tuesday, Mar. 07, 2017 9:58PM EST
Last updated Wednesday, Mar. 08, 2017 6:11AM EST
Two years before Canada’s medical-marijuana sector became embroiled in a tainted cannabis scare, the trade organization representing the majority of commercial growers explored using banned pesticides on their products, according to newly obtained documents.
Meeting minutes and confidential e-mails sent in 2015 to more than a dozen companies on the subject, show that some industry members supported using prohibited chemicals such as myclobutanil – a pesticide that produces hydrogen cyanide when combusted and can lead to serious health problems.
Though the application for approval was never carried out, myclobutanil is now at the centre of a controversy over patient safety in the sector after two companies – Mettrum Ltd. and OrganiGram Inc. – were found selling products contaminated with the banned substance.
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The discovery has led to the largest recalls the young industry has seen, resulting in the destruction of more than $1-million of tainted product and it has spawned two proposed class action lawsuits on behalf of patients who unknowingly ingested the chemical.
It has also raised questions about Health Canada’s oversight of the new industry.
The industry was created three years ago by the federal government to provide safe, pharmaceutical-quality products that could be trusted by doctors and patients, including those with compromised immune systems.
While myclobutanil is known as a prohibited, potentially dangerous chemical when inhaled, the documents from 2015 show the industry contemplated using it nonetheless.
According to minutes from a Canadian Medical Cannabis Industry Association (CMCIA) conference call held in February that year, two federally licensed medical marijuana growers, Tilray and MedReleaf, were in favour of seeking federal approval for the right to use myclobutanil and were seeking broader industry support for the idea.
A third company, Thunderbird Medical, wanted permission to use the chemicals AzaMax and Spinosad, which were prohibited under federal rules.
It is not known from the meeting minutes which licensed producers, or LPs, supported the proposal and which opposed the idea. However, a Jan. 28 e-mail obtained by The Globe and Mail shows that one member of the industry group, a company called MedCannAccess, which is now owned by Canopy Growth Corp., wanted to “get input from all LPs” before proceeding.
The documents suggest the desire to use such chemicals in Canada’s medical marijuana sector was greater than originally believed. In 2015, the CMCIA represented the majority of the roughly two dozen medical marijuana companies licensed at the time. The group, which has since changed its name to Cannabis Canada Association, hired Ottawa lobbying firm Capital Hill Group to explore the pesticide approvals with the federal government.
Asked about those efforts this week, Tilray executive Philippe Lucas, who sat on the committee that organized the conference call, said he could not remember spearheading the idea. In the minutes from that meeting, Mr. Lucas is listed as the person who would “draft the letter” asking to use myclobutanil.
Reached by phone, Mr. Lucas requested The Globe send its questions via e-mail. A Tilray spokesman then followed up, saying that many licensed producers in 2015 were interested in seeking regulatory approval for using myclobutanil, which is typically used to fight costly outbreaks of powdery mildew that can devastate cannabis crops.
To gain approval, the companies needed assistance from the manufacturer, Dow AgroSciences, which needed to supply Health Canada with safety data for the product. The federal government would have to evaluate “the safety and efficacy of this product for use on cannabis,” Tilray spokesman Zack Hutson said.
The Globe reported in September that Tilray sought to lobby the B.C. government in March, 2015, for help in getting the pesticide approved federally, according to the province’s lobbyist registry. However, it was not known that the industry conducted broader discussions and that more than one company supported the use of myclobutanil and other banned products.
