Pubdate: Fri, 23 Sep 2016
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2016 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Authors: Grant Robertson, Ian Bailey, and Daniel Leblanc
Page: A1

NOT AWARE OF REPORT ABOUT TOXIN-LACED MARIJUANA, PHILPOTT SAYS

A Vancouver city councillor says federal Health Minister Jane
Philpott's office took no action - and did not warn the city - after
receiving lab results showing there were dangerous toxins in marijuana
sold at some dispensaries in the city.

Kerry Jang, a point person on marijuana issues on Vancouver city
council, said the actions of the minister were "irresponsible," and
indicate the public was potentially put at risk.

Documents obtained by The Globe and Mail through the Access to
Information Act show that test results from a Health Canada-accredited
lab were sent to the federal government nearly a year ago, and
revealed that cannabis from several Vancouver dispensaries contained
pesticides and fungicides "not approved for any human use." The lab
report was sent to Eric Costen, who headed Health Canada's office of
medical cannabis, last October, and later sent to Dr. Philpott's chief
of staff, Genevieve Hinse, in January.

In an interview with The Globe, Dr. Philpott said she wasn't aware of
the lab report. "I'm not sure what you're referring to," she said when
asked why the information wasn't also forwarded immediately to
Vancouver officials. The lab results show that 13 of 22 samples tested
from about a dozen Vancouver dispensaries contained high levels of
banned chemicals - such as the pesticide carbamate, which is not
permitted for use on cannabis, and dodemorph, a fungicide used on
roses that is not approved for human consumption.

"I am kind of shocked and appalled that Minister Philpott knew about
the issues and did nothing to alter it. It's just unbelievable
actually," said Mr. Jang, who is also a professor of psychiatry at the
University of British Colombia.

Though Mr. Jang said he is aware the federal government has assembled
a task force to oversee its plans to legalize marijuana for
recreational use next year, the concerns about toxins in the products
being sold openly at dispensaries "is something that's immediate" that
needs to be dealt with.

There is no evidence the government took any action on the
information. Health Canada issued a statement this week saying that it
considers dispensaries, which have flourished across Canada in advance
of legalization, to be illegal. However despite this assertion, the
storefronts are operating in the open and are doing a booming
business, with some making tens of thousands of dollars a day in profit.

Asked by reporters in Ottawa whether her office has a responsibility
to act on the information to protect public health, Dr. Philpott
restated the government's position that the dispensaries are illegal.
The minister did not explain why the government took no action on the
information.

"We have made it very clear that Canadians should not purchase
products from any illegal sales people no matter where they are found,
whether in dispensaries or on the street corners," Dr. Philpott said.
"These dispensaries that you are referring to are illegal. There are
regimes in place for access to medical marijuana, those products are
safe."

Until Thursday, the Health Minister's office had refused to comment on
the test results. Though Dr. Philpott acknowledged the

lab results when asked by reporters about the problem outside the
House of Commons, during a later conversation with The Globe and Mail,
she said she wasn't sure if she had seen any test results, and
couldn't remember whether they had crossed her desk.

She then asked if The Globe could send the documents to Health Canada,
despite those same documents being obtained from the files of the
department through Access to Information, and despite them being sent
directly to her chief of staff.

"I see a lot of documents in a day, so please send it my way," Dr.
Philpott said.

Mr. Jang said Health Canada's handling of the matter is
unsettling.

"Toxins aren't good for you," he said, referring to possible and
immediate long-term damage to humans. "This is something that could be
easily fixed and that's what makes me really upset - the fact that
here's something that can really be fixed very quickly."

Patricia Daly, chief medical health officer for the Vancouver Coastal
Health authority, echoed Health Canada's position that dispensary
products are technically illegal and therefore the market is buyer
beware.

"The products sold in these places are illicit drugs," Dr. Daly said,
adding that Health Canada is not the police for illicit drug sales.
"In my view, it's not up to the [federal] Minister of Health to police
the sale of illicit drugs."

But Mr. Jang disagrees, saying the government bears responsibility for
public health. "Minister Philpott, in my opinion, has been negligent
on this file."
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MAP posted-by: Matt