Justin Trudeau says he is ‘shocked’ and Health Canada orders a correction after a Canadian biotech company claims to have obtained the right to ‘legally possess, produce, sell, and distribute coca leaf and cocaine’ in Colombia -British.
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“It is true that Health Canada allows certain pharmaceutical companies, for extremely limited research and medical needs, the use of this product. But there is no intention, there is no permission to sell it on the market and to share it with Canadians,” said the premier at a press briefing in Manitoba on Friday.
The “lack of understanding” — in Mr. Trudeau’s words — is said to stem from a brief press release issued Thursday by Canada’s Sunshine Earth Labs. only for cocaine, but also for other hard drugs like heroin, MDMA, opium and morphine.
The problem is that the company did not explicitly state that the products sold were reserved for very limited use, i.e. in a medical context, creating a blur around its announcement. on it because it is not something that we endorse as a country, ”added Justin Trudeau.
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A source in the federal government indicated that Health Canada had sent a letter to the company, urging it to publish a new press release to correct the situation before the end of the day on Friday, at the risk of losing its licenses.
Sunshine Earth Labs’ position surprised the premier of British Columbia, a province seeking solutions to limit overdoses that have killed more than 10,000 people since 2016.
The federal government granted the province a three-year exemption from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to allow individuals to possess a maximum dose of 2.5 grams of drugs without being arrested. “Rather, anyone found in possession of these substances […] for personal use will receive, at a minimum, information on accessible local health and social services,” explains Health Canada on a web page. This is currently only a three-year pilot project, effective January 31 2023 to January 31, 2026.
