Organigram, the New Brunswick producer that had its Jolts lozenges taken off shelves earlier this year, says it is again offering the “ingestible extract” product in several provincial markets. 

The move comes after a Federal Court ruled in August that Health Canada’s decision on the ingestible extracts was, in part, due to it including additional factors in its decision-making process that Ogranigram was not provided an opportunity to respond to.  

The judgement, posted on August 8, states that Organigram’s application for judicial review had been granted. The matter was then sent back to Health Canada for redetermination, taking the judge’s reasons into consideration.

Organigram now says that Health Canada has accepted the Judge’s ruling and that its initial ruling on Jolts being out of compliance is void. (editor’s note: This sentence has been slightly modified to ensure no misinterpretation.)

“On August 8^th, the Federal Court ruled in Organigram’s favour by finding that Health Canada had breached its duty of procedural fairness in rendering its classification decision on JOLTS; the court ordered Health Canada to make a redetermination,” a representative with Organigram tells StratCann via email.

“Health Canada has acknowledged that it accepts the decision of the court, and that it considers its initial classification decision on JOLTS to be void. As such, pending the final redetermination by Health Canada, Organigram has reinstated the commercialization of JOLTS.”

“Organigram remains of the view that Edison JOLTS are properly classified as a cannabis extract.”

The products, the spokesperson says, are being sold in New Brunswick now, and Organigram expect Jolts to be in retail stores in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Ontario soon.

In an email sent October 31, in response to a request for comment on this new product availability, Health Canada said: “The judicial review decision from August 8, 2023 required that the classification of the Edison Jolts be sent back to Health Canada for redetermination. This redetermination process is currently underway and we are working to finalize it in a timely way.” 

Organigram and others who have made these products contend they are compliant products. 

In early January 2023, Health Canada sent a notice to producers highlighting their concerns with these types of products. Companies were told they had until May 31, 2023, to cease sales and distribution. They all complied.

Health Canada issued a public warning about these products on March 3. However, earlier this week, Health Canada told StratCann that it had again identified several edible cannabis products it deems as being incorrectly sold as cannabis extracts, and that the regulator is working with several cannabis producers to address the issue.

This article will be updated as more information becomes available.

Note: This article was updated to include new information from Organigram on which provinces Jolts will be available in soon.

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