Pubdate: Thu, 24 Apr 2014
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Page: A6
Copyright: 2014 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/letters.html
Website: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
Author: Douglas Quan

GROWING PAINS FOR NEW MEDICAL MARIJUANA SYSTEM

Licensed Producers Worry Seizures And Recall May Taint Them
All

It hasn't been a month and already Canada's fledgling commercial
medical marijuana industry has seen two large RCMP seizures and the
recall, due to "quality control" issues, of products from a company
that now seems to have vanished.

Licensed commercial producers not connected to either the seizures or
the recall say the incidents have put a taint on them all.

"It's bad for the industry. Obviously we don't want to hear about
recalls, especially this early on," said Neil Closner, CEO of
Markham-based MedReleaf, one of 13 companies currently licensed to
grow and sell medical weed under a new regulatory regime that recently
took effect. "The industry already has a stigma. We're trying to win
over the health community, even Health Canada, and show how
regulations will ensure a safe, secure, quality product. All this
noise is not good."

A statement from the office of Health Minister Rona Ambrose on
Wednesday said the recall announced last week "demonstrates that the
new program is working and that the strict regulatory and oversight
requirements are effective."

Under the old regime, medical marijuana patients could grow their own
marijuana with a personal-production licence or obtain it from
designated growers. But authorities complained that they were often
growing more than what they were permitted and that the system was
rife with abuse, prompting federal regulators to switch to a new
system on April 1, which restricts production only to licensed
commercial producers.

But the new system is encountering growing pains.

On April 18, Health Canada announced that one of the newly licensed
producers, Greenleaf Medicinals of Duncan, B.C., was voluntarily
recalling one batch of Purple Kush following an inspection by federal
regulators.

The inspectors "identified issues with processes that affect quality
control, good production practices and oversight - this includes
potential residues from use of unregistered pesticides, unsanitary
production conditions, concerns with testing standards and/or control
of plant materials," Health Canada said in a follow up statement.

Greenleaf, which has voluntarily stopped selling its product, told
Health Canada that 63 clients were affected by the recall and that it
is working with other licensed producers to find a supply of marijuana
for them, the statement said.

Those clients who received the recalled marijuana have been told to
stop using it and to return the product to Greenleaf via "secure
courier" or destroy the product at home by adding water to it, mixing
it with cat litter to mask the odour and then throwing it in the
trash. There have been no reports of illness, officials said.

For now, the company's name has been taken off a Health Canada website
listing licensed producers authorized to sell to patients. It will
remain off the list until the problems have been fixed and the company
has been re-inspected, Health Canada said.

Attempts to reach Greenleaf representatives were unsuccessful. Its
website and social media pages have been taken down. A listed phone
number doesn't work.

Getting a production licence from Health Canada involves volumes of
paperwork and culminates in a physical inspection of the growing facility.

Closner said his on-site inspection lasted several hours and involved
a review of thousands of pages of company protocols and an examination
of security systems.  
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D