Gatineau grower halts sales over fungicide
A Gatineau producer of medical marijuana halted sales Tuesday after a pesticide not approved for use on cannabis was discovered on its plants.
The Hydropothecary Corporation announced the voluntary halt as a “precautionary measure” after Health Canada notified the company on Monday that test results had discovered trace amounts of myclobutanil, a fungicide that is not approved for cannabis.
Halting sales for an undetermined amount of time was a difficult decision, because patients won’t be able to buy their medicine, said Hydropothecary cofounder Adam Miron.
The level of pesticide found was minute. But the company wants to set the industry standard for being open and acting quickly to fix the problem, he said.
“We don’t take it lightly. This matter is very serious.”
The company in rural MassonAngers, about 40 kilometres northeast of Ottawa, is the only producer in Quebec licensed by Health Canada to grow and sell medical marijuana. It employs 80 people and is expanding rapidly to get ready for the recreational marijuana market.
Hydropothecary has launched an investigation to try to figure out the source of the pesticide. Every plant has been tested, as well as the water supply and soil. “You name it, we will test it,” said Miron. It’s even possible the pesticide residue was from a single plant purchased several years ago as a mother plant when the company was set up in 2013, he said.
Several Canadian companies have recently faced controversy because of tainted medical marijuana.
Mettrum, an Ontario grower, and OrganiGram, in Moncton, voluntarily recalled cannabis products found to contain unauthorized pesticides. Mettrum has since been bought by Canopy Growth Corp., the company that also owns the Tweed marijuana plant in Smiths Falls.
Patients who say they became ill after using tainted medical marijuana have joined three class-action lawsuits against those companies. The lawsuits are seeking certification through the courts. Allegations contained in the lawsuits have not been proven.
After a flurry of bad publicity, Health Canada announced it would begin random, unannounced testing at medical marijuana plants. In March, Hydropothecary was the first to be tested, said Miron.
The company had already begun voluntarily testing for pesticides in February, using a certified lab. Those tests were negative for myclobutanil at a threshold of 0.05 parts per million, according to Hydropothecary, which has promised to release all test results publicly.
Miron said that threshold was set based on industry norms and conversations with Health Canada officials.
Health Canada testing on March 8 showed levels of myclobutanil of 0.023 ppm and 0.012 ppm. That level is “exceptionally low,” and is “not likely to cause any adverse health consequences,” said Hydropothecary in a news release.
Health Canada had not yet set a threshold for an acceptable level of myclobutanil, said Morin. But when Hydropothecary learned of the test results on Monday evening, it decided to halt sales.
“That gives us time to work with Health Canada to assess the situation. We’re in uncharted territory.”
He doesn’t know when sales will resume. It will take about 72 hours to get test results back on all the plants, said Miron.
Customers have been emailed or phoned with explanations and an apology. The company website will be updated daily.
Hydropothecary patients who need to purchase marijuana can switch to another licensed producer, but they’ll have to get a new prescription from a doctor.
Myclobutanil has been used in the past by illegal pot growers to control mould on plants. It’s approved for use on some fruits and vegetables, but less is known about the health effects of myclobutanil when applied to a cannabis plant that is dried and smoked.
Health Canada says the health risk of the trace amounts of pesticide found in the products recalled from the two medical marijuana producers was low.
It released a statement in March that contradicted media reports warning of serious health consequences from smoking cannabis tainted with myclobutanil because of the release of hydrogen cyanide during combustion.
“When the cannabis plant is combusted, a number of compounds are produced, including very low amounts of hydrogen cyanide. Health Canada’s analysis of the recalled cannabis products show that the trace levels of myclobutanil that were present would have produced a negligible amount of additional hydrogen cyanide upon combustion, in comparison to the levels already produced by marijuana alone.”
We don’t take it lightly. This matter is very serious.