Canadian pot firm gets kosher certified

A Canadian medical marijuana producer says it is the first cannabis company in the country that has products with a rabbi’s seal of approval.

Gatineau, Que.-based announced Tuesday that its processed medical marijuana merchandise had been kosher-certified by the Ottawa Vaad HaKashrut, a notfor-profit agency that confirms products conform with Jewish dietary law, which prohibits foods such as pork.

Hydropothecary said the designation extended to its “ready-to-consume activated marijuana powder product line,” cannabis peppermint oil and dried pot buds. A symbol denoting the kosher certification of those products will appear on their labels, according to a release.

“As the only medical marijuana company in Canada with current kosher-certified processed products, we take great pride in having the support of the Council for Kashrut (the kosher certification agency),” said Hydropothecary CEO and co-founder Sebastien St-Louis.

The announcement came on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The certification is not about a blessing, said Vaad HaKashrut director Rabbi Levy Teitlebaum.

“When I go to a company and am certifying peanut butter or strawberry jam, it’s about the actual ingredients and the equipment they’re made on,” the rabbi said. “We ensure that … how it is made and the ingredients that are within it, and the ingredients that make up those ingredients, way back to the source, back to the base ingredients, are in fact all kosher or are inherently kosher.”

So far, the kosher designation for Hydropothecary only extends to the company’s medicinal offerings. “Right now, we’re simply saying, and it is especially because of the fact, that someone needs it to get better, someone needs it to help them heal in their illness,” said the rabbi. “According to the Torah, according to the Talmud, this is something that if we are able to help them, that is my obligation.”