Dear C45 Quality Association Members,
A meeting with industry associations and Health Canada, chaired by John Clare, Director General of Controlled Substances and Cannabis, was held on June 28, 2023.
The meeting’s objective was to solicit feedback from the industry pertaining to cannabis products containing intoxicating cannabinoids other than delta-9-THC.
Amongst select C45 board members, the following associations were also present at the meeting:
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Canadian Cannabis Council (C3)
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National Cannabis Working Group (NCWG - NCBC)
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Association québécoise de l'industrie du cannabis (AQIC)
The meeting consisted of a brief welcome and opening remarks, an overview of the situation and Health Canada’s intentions, and a question/comment period.
Essentially, Health Canada is concerned that other intoxicating cannabinoids, with a potential impact to public health and safety, are being used to deliberately circumvent regulatory controls.
Some of these other intoxicating cannabinoids include:
• Delta-8-THC,
• Delta-10-THC,
• Delta-6a-10a-THC,
• THC-O-acetate (THC-O),
• Cannabinol (CBN),
• Hexahydrocannabinol (HHC)
• Tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV),
• Tetrahydrocannabiphorol (THCP), and
• Tetrahydrocannabutol (THCB).
To address this issue, Health Canada is drafting two documents for release this summer/fall:
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A guidance document for Licensed Producers
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A consumer information sheet
We commend John Clare and the team at Health Canada for taking a proactive approach to soliciting industry feedback on this emerging issue, and for their active, open, and honest communications. The C45 Board believes this guidance will be reasonable considering the unknown public health and safety factors with cannabis products specifically formulated to contain minor cannabinoids. Furthermore, we believe that the Provincial Distributors will be more open to accepting these cannabis products once Health Canada releases their guidance.
We will keep you updated as more information is received on the matter.