BC-based cannabis company Adastra Labs recently announced it has received Health Canada approval to include cocaine under its controlled substances dealer’s license.
The amended license allows the Langley, BC company to interact with up to 250 grams of cocaine and to import coca leaves to manufacture and synthesize the substance.
Adastra first received its Controlled Drugs and Substances Dealer’s License on August 24, 2022. In addition to coca leaf products, the license also allows the company to possess, produce, sell and distribute up to 1,000 grams of psilocybin and its chemical cousin psilocin.
Adastra operates several cannabis businesses as well, including the Sitka Weedworks micro cannabis brand and business park, retailer Clarity Cannabis, and the former-legacy-now-legal cannabis brand Phyto Extractions. It also operates PerceiveMD, a manufacturer of medical cannabis and psychedelic therapies.
“Harm reduction is a critically important and mainstream topic, and we are staying at the forefront of drug regulations across the board,” said Michael Forbes, CEO of Adastra. “We proactively pursued the amendment to our Dealer’s License to include cocaine back in December 2022. We will evaluate how the commercialization of this substance fits in with our business model at Adastra in an effort to position ourselves to support the demand for a safe supply of cocaine.”
British Columbia recently enacted a three-year exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) for adults 18 years and older to possess up to 2.5 grams of different drugs such as opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine, and MDMA until 2026.
