Ontario cannabis retailer pulls CannTrust products over unlicensed facilities use (updated)
10/07/2019 19:33
(Adds comment from other provinces, Danish company)
By Moira Warburton
TORONTO, July 10 (Reuters) - The online retailer of cannabis
run by Ontario, Canada's most populous province, said on
Wednesday it had pulled several CannTrust TRST.TO products
from its offerings, after the federal health regulator found the
company sold cannabis produced in unlicensed facilities.
The retailer, Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS), said in an email
it had "voluntarily removed all affected products from
distribution pending the outcome of an investigation." OCS did
not specify which products it has pulled.
On Monday, CannTrust Holdings Inc said Health Canada was
putting a hold on 5,200 kilograms (11,464 pounds) of CannTrust
cannabis produced in non-compliant facilities. The company said
it was voluntarily holding a further 7,500 kg (16,532 lbs) as a
result. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2493D7
Health Canada has given the company 10 days to submit a
report about its use of unlicensed facilities.
CannTrust, whose shares are down about 35% this week, has
not responded to a request for comment.
Provincial cannabis distributors for British Columbia and
Alberta said they do not plan to pull any CannTrust's products.
B.C.'s Liquor Distribution Board (LDB) said it will not take
action unless Health Canada or the company informs it of a
problem.
"CannTrust has assured the LDB that all product sold to our
operations has passed quality control testing at Health Canada
certified labs and through CannTrust's own quality control
processes and safety reviews," LDB spokeswoman Viviana Zanoco
said in an email statement.
The Alberta Liquor Control Board told Reuters it is
conducting its own due diligence of CannTrust products and will
take action if needed.
Denmark-based StenoCare STENO.TE , which sells CannTrust
cannabis products for medical use, said in a statement on
Tuesday that it was quarantining for possible destruction one
"very small" batch of products it determined had come from an
unlicensed cultivation room. All other product it received from
CannTrust was cultivated in compliant rooms, it said.
"This is not expected to have any negative impact on
patients nor StenoCare," the company said. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN24A0UW
The report from CannTrust is expected to be delivered to
Health Canada on July 17.
(Reporting by Moira Warburton; editing by Bill Berkrot)
((Moira.Warburton@thomsonreuters.com))