Pubdate: Tue, 28 Feb 2017
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2017 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Grant Robertson
Page: A1

MEDICAL MARIJUANA COMPANY UNABLE TO TRACE PESTICIDE SOURCE

A federally regulated medical marijuana company caught selling
products tainted with a banned pesticide that can cause debilitating
health problems has been unable to determine how the chemical got into
its supply, raising new questions about the oversight of the industry.

Organigram Inc. said on Monday that it has wrapped up an internal
investigation into a product recall announced in December but the
findings are "inconclusive," with "no hard evidence leading to the
source of the contamination."

The company also said it would offer full refunds to customers who
bought the tainted product, after refusing over the past two months to
give patients their money back.

The refunds will cost $2.26 million, Organigram said, a financial hit
worth slightly more than the total sales the company reported in its
most recent quarter.

Organigram is facing the prospect of a class-action lawsuit over the
tainted medicine, which some patients say has left them with serious
health effects, including lung problems, rashes and persistent nausea
and vomiting.

At least two law firms are considering launching actions that would
force the company to surrender profits related to the product.

Organigram is one of three medical-marijuana companies involved in a
banned-pesticide scare uncovered by The Globe and Mail in December
that has swept the medical marijuana industry)

The investigation has raised concerns about Health Canada's oversight
of the sector - particularly as Ottawa prepares to legalize cannabis
for recreational use, creating what is expected to be a highly
lucrative business.

Mettrum Ltd., Organigram and Aurora Cannabis Inc. announced recalls
late last year after the pesticide myclobutanil was discovered in
medicine sold to clients. Myclobutanil is outlawed on plants that are
smoked because it produces hydrogen cyanide when heated and can cause
serious health problems.

Monday's announcement that Organigram could not determine the source
of the problem casts further doubt on the credibility of the industry,
which is licensed by the federal government to produce safe
pharmaceutical products for patients who use them to treat everything
from cancer-related pain to epilepsy.

Several patients who consumed the tainted cannabis say they are not
sure if they can trust the products again, particularly since Health
Canada does not require regular safety testing for all 38 companies in
the industry.

Organigram maintains it has never used myclobutanil, which is known in
the industry as an easy but dangerous shortcut to dealing with
outbreaks of mildew that can threaten crops. The company said it
believes the banned pesticide may have got into its plants through
"inputs" in the growing process, such as contaminated fertilizer or
soil. In particular, Organigram officials suspect peat moss the
company used last year may have been treated with myclobutanil before
entering the facility, but the company has no conclusive proof and no
longer uses the peat moss.

"The company has instituted a series of new protocols to prevent a
recurrence of any issue of this nature," Organigram said. "All inputs
from outside suppliers are now tested before they are used. Inputs
include such things as seeds, growing medium, fertilizers, water, etc."

Organigram once marketed itself as an organic grower of cannabis, but
lost that designation from global certification body Ecocert after the
pesticide issue arose and will have to reapply. The company said it is
now testing all of its product lots for pesticides.

The Globe and Mail first uncovered the myclobutanil problem in
Canada's federally regulated medical-marijuana industry in December,
revealing that a recall at Mettrum was due to the pesticide. However,
neither Health Canada nor the company included that information in
their official announcements of the recalls.

A day after The Globe article was published, Organigram issued a
public notice saying it, too, had been found selling products that
contained myclobutanil, which is well known throughout the industry as
a banned product. The problem was discovered almost by accident when
Aurora tested a bulk shipment it bought from Organigram for resale to
clients.

The myclobutanil scare exposed a troubling blind spot in Canada's
regulatory regime. Health Canada said recently that it had not
required the industry to test for harmful pesticides because the
companies know they were not allowed and they should not be using them.

Since the recalls, Health Canada has mandated that Organigram and
Mettrum, which has been purchased by Canopy Growth Corp., test all
their products for pesticides. Health Canada has also said it would
introduce random testing for pesticides.

However, some companies do not think those efforts are enough to win
back the confidence of patients.

CanniMed Therapeutics Inc., based in Saskatoon, has commissioned
independent lab tests on some of its products and said it will publish
the data to show consumers its medicine contains no banned pesticides.

Myclobutanil is approved for use on foods such as grapes because it
can be safely metabolized by the digestive system. However, when
smoked, it creates hydrogen cyanide that enters the bloodstream
directly through the lungs.

Health Canada said in September it had a zero-tolerance policy for
contaminants such as myclobutanil and would consider revoking the
licence of a company found using it.

But since the pesticide was discovered in legally produced marijuana,
Health Canada and the companies involved have tried to play down the
problem. Mettrum and OrganiGram told clients the chemical was approved
for fruit, giving the impression of safety, while leaving out the
details about what happens when myclobutanil is heated. Meanwhile,
Health Canada referred to the residue detected as "trace amounts" that
are "low risk."

Warren Porter, a U.S. toxicologist, has said Health Canada and the
companies "have no idea whether or not that's true" because there are
no scientific data to support the assurances the risk is low.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt