A medical cannabis user challenges quality control in the industry

A medical cannabis user in Edmonton is concerned about quality control in the industry, having had unexpected side effects on well-known cannabis strains that she has received from two licensed producers .

But Health Canada, doctors and industry experts say that producers are subject to the most stringent regulations in the world and that legal cannabis in Canada is safe.

Joan Kapuscinski suffers from chronic pain due to fibromyalgia and insomnia. Before she started using cannabis a year and a half ago, she only slept an hour at a time.

Kapuscinski, 60, was initially reluctant to try cannabis. But she had negative side effects of pharmaceutical drugs.

"I'm not trying to get high, I'm trying to feel better," she said.

She bought her first batch of dried cannabis in July 2017 from Alberta producer Aurora. She chose a variety of indica – a type of cannabis that usually provides a feeling of relaxation of the body – called Snow Globe. The concentration of THC, the component that makes consumers feel good, was about 21%.

Every night before going to bed, she sprayed a pinch and declared that the effects were "like a miracle".

"It was relaxing and the pain was gone, and I slept for six hours in a row," she says. "I woke up in the morning, no hangover, I felt good, it really worked."

Kapuscinski continued to order the same strain for months, without problem, until she received her third order. She was vaping a small amount and her mind started to pack.

"I could not even follow my thoughts and went to bed and just vibrated," she said. "Seriously, I could not even finish a thought, it was crazy."

Kapuscinski opted for another Indica strain with a THC concentration of about 25% from Tilray, another Canadian producer. She had no problem with that until her fourth order arrived.

The little green flowers did not look like or smell like the same cannabis that she had ordered before. They were dry, did not have the small orange hairs she had seen in previous batches, and it did not give her the same immediate relief. After eight days of use, she paced, wringing her hands and feeling restless and confused.

She was afraid of having received a strain of sativa – which tends to have a more energizing effect – instead of the indica that she had ordered.

She contacted Tilray and was asked to send them a photo of the cannabis. She received a call from the company confirming that she had received what she had ordered. Kapuscinski no longer wanted to continue using cannabis, but was told that she could not return an open package.

Kapuscinski is convinced that the bad order of cannabis has been introduced into the container.

"I'm afraid to order again, because what am I going to have this time? I do not know," she said. "So, I have nothing, I have not had anything for a while now."

Minimal risk of mislabelled cannabis, says consultant

The potential for Kapuscinski to receive a mislabelled product is almost impossible, said Mathew Columbro, president and co-founder of Vindica Cannabis Corporation, a Canadian company that works on producer license applications.

Tilray and Aurora are not among his clients.

Health Canada's regulations for producers are extremely strict.

Everything about soil, temperature, humidity, nutrients and lighting is tightly regulated. Standard operating procedures dictate that each stage of crop, harvest, processing, and packaging is programmed and tracked electronically, Columbro said.

These procedures must be replicated at each stage, each time, and each producer has a supervisor to oversee this process.

A sample of each crop is also sent to a third party laboratory to test levels of THC and CBD in cannabis, as well as any contaminant, bacteria or mold. Health Canada has authorized these laboratories to handle cannabis.

All of these systems are meant to eliminate human error, said Columbro.

"They really look at every aspect so that Health Canada knows exactly what has been grown and how much you have to sell, but also to ensure product consistency and avoid labeling errors," he said. he declared. .

"The wine and alcohol industry is not even on the verge of being regulated as severely as cannabis. In terms of product safety, I think we are in a very good place. "

The wine and alcohol industry is not even about to be regulated as severely as cannabis. In terms of product safety, I think we are really well positioned.– Mathew Columbro, Vindica Cannabis Corporation

It will always be difficult to maintain consistency with cannabis because it is a plant, said Columbro. There are factors that can not be completely controlled that could have an effect on the final product.

But if it was a mistake with the cannabis itself or the labeling of the product, there would have been "hundreds or thousands" of incorrect orders, he said.

Tammy Jarbeau, spokesperson for Health Canada, said in a statement to CBC News that cannabis production is subject to some of the "toughest requirements in the world" to protect the health and safety of Canadians.

"These standards and other requirements are backed by rigorous compliance and enforcement by Health Canada, including frequent unannounced inspections during which inspectors verify compliance with regulations," added Jarbeau.

Consumers concerned with the quality of the product can contact Health Canada at [email protected].

Producers are held accountable not only by Health Canada but also by consumers and shareholders. It is therefore in their interest to ensure the consistency of cannabis production, said Columbro.

Tilray spokesperson Chrissy Roebuck said in an email to CBC News that the company was operating under all Health Canada regulations and that the products were subject to "rigorous" quality control testing. before being sent to patients.

"Due to the agricultural nature of the product and the raw materials used during cultivation, patients may perceive a slight variability of the final product from different crops.In the end, any apparent variability does not affect the crop. effectiveness, quality or safety of patients, "she said.

Heather MacGregor, spokeswoman for Aurora, said in an email that the producer had received no response from patients with concerns similar to those of Kapuscinski.

"Sometimes there are reactions that we can not explain"

Because cannabis is a plant product, THC and CBD levels can not be controlled as tightly as laboratory-produced pharmaceuticals, "said Dr. Peter Lin, a Toronto-based family physician and director of Canadian Heart Research. Center.

With respect to quality control and efforts to replicate the conditions for each batch of cannabis produced, Lin stated that licensed producers appeared to be doing everything right.

He expects the industry to even produce a more consistent product as it expands due to legalization.

"Now that we have a regulated system in which producers are known and who follow all these rules of good manufacturing, I think that makes it even safer, in our mind," he said.

There could be small variations between plants of the same strain that could affect the concentrations of chemicals in the plant, Lin said. The potency of cannabis has also generally increased "enough" since the 1960s, he added.

These factors could have unforeseen effects on those who use cannabis, he said.

Regular cannabis users may also develop tolerance, he added, which would imply that they consume more to suffer the same effects.

In the case of Kapuscinski, Lin said that it was possible that she had consumed a different type of cannabis than she thought she had bought. Or the unexpected side effects could be due to the amount of food she consumed, or to the method in which she consumed it, he said.

Lin suggests that cannabis users first sample a small amount of their purchase to see how it will affect them.

"Just like in prescription drugs, there are sometimes reactions that we can not explain, and that's why we report these reactions to the government," Lin said.

"Are we going to avoid all sorts of situations like this? No, but I think it's a lot better than if we had a lot of different people producing and maybe not meeting all the rules."