A researcher with the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute and the University of British Columbia is recruiting people who use cannabis for medical purposes for a driving simulation study.
The study, which plans to begin recruiting for participation in early 2025, is being led by Dr. Jeff Brubacher, the director of the Vancouver General Hospital Emergency Medicine Research Program. Brubacher is also director of the Road Safety and Public Health Research Lab at the University of British Columbia (UBC), and professor in the UBC Department of Emergency Medicine.
The goal of the study is to look at two separate streams of medical cannabis users: Those who are just starting to use cannabis for medical purposes and those who have been using it for this purpose prior to the study.
In the first stream, those with no prior medical cannabis use will be tested before beginning their use of cannabis, then again after the onset of use after one month and four months.
Brubacher explains this will help provide a baseline of participants’ driving abilities, giving a better understanding of how cannabis use might impact them. While impairment from cannabis is one factor to consider, he also notes that some who are using cannabis for medical purposes are doing so to help transition away from opioids or benzodiazepines, which could mean impairment could potentially decrease following cannabis use.
“The question is, what happens to your driving after you start medical cannabis,” he explains. “Did you get better or did it get worse?”
The second stream of study participants will be recruited from people already using cannabis for medical purposes with authorization from a medical professional. Similarly, the goal with this cohort will be to measure the impact of cannabis use on their abilities to drive, as well as taking specific cognitive tests.
Cannabis users will be asked to abstain from taking any cannabis products the night prior to the study. On the day of the study, they will take the tests before using cannabis and then again after 30 minutes, two hours, four hours, and six hours.
“The question there is, after I take my regular cannabis, do I have some driving impairment or not,” said Brubacher. “And if I have it, when does it occur and how long does it last?”
Driving abilities will be monitored using the High Fidelity Driving Simulator, measuring for things such as speed, weaving, reaction time, and collisions. The study will be conducted at the Vancouver General Hospital campus in Vancouver.
In addition, researchers will take blood samples from participants to determine the level of detectable THC in their system. This will not only provide researchers with a correlation between participants’ results on the driving simulator but also give participants a better understanding of their blood/THC levels at any given time, especially after they have abstained overnight.
This is especially important, he notes, since THC can linger in the blood sometimes well after any impairing effects have passed. The allowable legal limit in Canada is less than 2 nanograms (ng) of THC per millilitre of blood.
“How many people are driving around with a THC level that is illegal—above 2 nanograms per millilitre for example— but are totally unimpaired?” he asked. “I think we have to look at that because it’s not fair or just for someone to be on prescribed medication and be at risk that if anything happens and they get tested, there could be legal implications. So I think knowing their THC levels when they’re not impaired will be interesting.”
The Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) is funding the research. It is seeking to recruit 360 medical cannabis users for the study, which is expected to take around three years.
Brubacher and his team are also working with Vancouver-area medical cannabis clinic Green, Leaf Medical Clinic to recruit participants for the study.
Working with the clinic’s medical director, Dr. Carolyn MacCallum’s patients who fit the parameters of the study will be given a chance to participate.
Fonda Betts, the clinic’s CEO, says she and her team are excited to be a part of the project and highlight the need for this type of research. While there has been similar research looking at non-medical cannabis users, building a set of data that looks at how cannabis use impacts driving abilities, if at all, is important.
“It’s a little different when you’re using it as a medical patient compared to recreational cannabis use. A medical patient is using it for symptom management, a better quality of life, whereas a recreational user may be used to being impaired, using cannabis to get high.”
The goal for a medical cannabis user under the guidance of a medical professional at Green Leaf is to achieve what she says is a goal of finding beneficial effects for the user before reaching a level that impairs the person.
“This study, I hope, will help show that medical cannabis will have little to no impact on driving abilities. That’s our hope. So if we can provide the data to support that, it can reassure patients, health care professionals, and the public that medical patients are using it safely.”
Those interested in taking part in the study can reach out here: [email protected].
Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan’s Driving Research and Simulation Laboratory will begin looking at how cannabis edibles impact people’s ability to drive in 2025.
“There’s a lot of research on smoked cannabis and the impacts on driving, but very little on the effects of edibles,” Alexander Crizzle, the lab’s director and an associate professor of public health, tells the CBC.
Participants in the study will get to eat a 10 mg THC edible and will be provided with snacks and cab fare home.
The research team will then measure participants’ impairment utilizing their in-house driving simulator, Crizzle tells the CBC in Saskatchewan.
“We also have a battery of tests where we can look at how people think and we kind of stress them out a little bit to see how well they perform under a certain amount of stress. That kind of gives us a good indication of how much the edibles are impacting their ability to think and drive.”
The Driving Research and Simulation Laboratory (DRSL) at the University of Saskatchewan is directed by Crizzle and contains state-of-the-art driving simulators to study the impact of technology, rehabilitation, road design (e.g., intersections, roundabouts, bicycle lanes), and training. Among other features, the DRSL also has a full array of clinical assessments such as vision, cognition, and motor tests.
The lab is also a co-investigator in the multi-year “Don’t Drive High” campaign from 2021-2024, with funding from the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR). This Canada-wide project partnered with young Canadians to better understand the factors that influence their decision to drive high.
In new figures from 2024, the number of people who reported using cannabis before driving (18%) increased slightly from the year prior (15% in 2023) but is still lower than the 27% who reported doing so in 2018.
This included 16% who reported driving within 2 hours of smoking or vaporizing cannabis and 10% who reported driving within 4 hours of ingesting cannabis.
Of those who reported using cannabis in the past 12 months, 78% said they believe that cannabis use impairs one’s ability to drive, while 13% responded that it depends, and 6% responded that it did not impair one’s ability to drive.
A cannabis education group has teamed up with a cannabis testing lab in BC to look into the impacts of remediation on cannabis.
Francis Hall and Tom Rothmeier, the team behind Urbanistic, a cannabis education and quality grading company based in BC, recently launched a study looking into how cannabis is affected by the e-beam remediation process, not just immediately after remediation but also several months later.
While there have been studies done on the effects of irradiation on cannabis, those results were only looking at the immediate impacts, not long term, says Hall. He and his partner Rothmeier wanted to better understand how that process can change cannabis after it’s sat on shelves.
Hall says the idea is one he has been looking at for a while, and it finally came together once they found the right partners, with both a local producer providing cannabis samples and a local lab to test those samples.
The unnamed producer is providing two 160-gram samples from the same lot/batch, one that will go through a standard e-beam remediation process and one that will not. Those samples will then be shared with analytical cannabis testing lab Northern Scientific, also in BC, which will test them for things like cannabinoid and terpene levels, as well as microbes like mould and mildew.
Those samples will be tested right after the e-beam remediation process, done at a facility in BC, and again after three, six, and, ideally, nine months. This will give a better real-world look at how the e-beam process impacts both product quality and shelf stability for microbials.
“It just struck me that a big thing we’re missing is we’re not reflecting the average supply chain that a product actually goes through until it reaches the consumer,” he explains. “So that was more the point that I was coming from. Is this research fit for purpose and an accurate representation of how a product typically gets remediated and moves through the supply chain?”
Zack Paul, the CEO and founder of Northern Scientific, Inc., located in Langley, BC, says he was eager to participate in the research when approached by Urbanistic. Not only is he interested to see the long-term effects of remediation on cannabinoids and terpenes, but also the long-term implications of the effect of microbials on shelf-life stability.
This is important not only for cannabis sold in Canada—which might wait weeks or months from harvest to being sent to a distributor, then to a store, before a consumer buys it—but also for cannabis sold on the international market. These products, he says, can often take an even longer and more circuitous route to consumers, making it especially important to ensure the remediation process helps hold back unwanted microbial growth not just immediately after but several months later.
“We’re very happy to be on board, and it’s fascinating, the information we’re going to see at the end of this,” says Paul. “It’s valuable research that we just don’t have.”
“No one really does testing post-e-beam or irradiation for potency or terpenoids, so to be able to see what degradation, analytically, we can find is going to be fascinating.
“As well, with microbiology, we know that with irritation or e-beam, it more or less stunts or puts those microbes dormant. It doesn’t kill them completely. So you will start to see regrowth, it’s just a matter of when.”
Urbanistic is hosting a GoFundMe campaign to help raise $15,000 to pay for the research. Although the page refers to research on irradiation, Hall reiterates that the research is specifically on the e-beam process, which differs somewhat from the irradiation process. Both are used by cannabis companies in Canada for the purpose of remediating their crops for shelf stability, although e-beam has become the more commonly used process in recent years.
Acknowledging this important distinction, Hall says he chose the term “irradiation” because it’s the most commonly understood term among consumers.
In addition to lab testing, Urbanistic will also apply their own in-house grading system to the product, which includes blind sensory examination as well as product sampling to see if there are any noticeable effects of the e-beam process, either visually, from the aroma, or taste or even overall effect and experience.
I think that will complement the lab testing really well,” says Hall. “I think it’s going to give us an understanding of how the remediation has changed everything from the curing and freshness of the plant to the colours of the plant, the robustness of the trichome heads, the colour of the trichome heads, all the way through to the actual consumption of the product.”
In the simplest sense, irradiation works by exposing harvested cannabis to radiation—commonly either gamma, electron-beam (e-beam), or x-ray—to render contaminants like mould spores and other microbes inert and harmless to the consumer.
At the outset of legalization, gamma irradiation was the most common method of decontamination, but since then, some producers have moved to e-beam remediation, a shorter and cheaper process than gamma that produces comparable results. Irradiation is a general term for when radiation interacts with an object, while e-beam irradiation is a specific type of irradiation that uses high-energy electrons to sterilize products.
The vast majority of cannabis purchases in Canada continue to come from legal sources, according to Health Canada’s annual cannabis survey.
The amount commonly spent per month on cannabis decreased from $73 in 2018 to $63 in 2024 but was unchanged from 2023.
The 2024 Canadian Cannabis Survey highlights ongoing trends among cannabis consumers in the country, documenting not only sources of cannabis but also topics such as consumption habits and perceptions of cannabis risks.
Smoking cannabis remains the most common way Canadians consume the product, but the proportion who report smoking cannabis has declined by twenty percentage points since legalization began.
In 2018, 89% of cannabis consumers reported smoking cannabis, a number that has declined to 69% in the last two years of the federal government’s annual Canadian Cannabis Survey.
Eating cannabis products was the second most common mode of consumption (57%, up from 43% in 2018) according to data collected from April 4 to July 2, 2024, while vaporizing (including vaping dried cannabis and/or liquid or solid cannabis extracts) accounted for 37% of reported consumption.
The number of people who reported getting their cannabis from a legal source in the first half of 2024 remained the same as the previous year at about 72%, up from just 37% in 2019.
Only 3% of respondents in the survey reported getting their cannabis from an illegal source, while 15% said they obtained their cannabis from a social source like a friend or family member, and 2% reported getting their cannabis from a storefront located in a First Nations community. Such stores generally operate outside the scope of provincial licensing regimes and have proliferated in recent years.
Those who reported using cannabis at least once in the previous 12 months increased from 22% in 2018 to 26% in 2024, but this number was unchanged from 26% in 2023. Similarly, those who reported using cannabis at least once in the past 30 days increased slightly from 15% in 2018 to 17% in 2024 but was unchanged from 17% in 2023.
Only 6% of the population in Canada reported using cannabis on a daily or almost daily basis, up slightly from 5% in 2018 but unchanged from 6% in 2023. These daily or nearly-daily users represented 24% of all people in Canada who reported consuming cannabis in the past 12 months, relatively unchanged from 25% in 2018 and 23% in 2023.
The number of people who reported using cannabis before driving (18%) increased slightly from the year prior (15% in 2023) but is still lower than the 27% who reported doing so in 2018. This included 16% who reported driving within 2 hours of smoking or vapourizing cannabis and 10% who reported driving within 4 hours of ingesting cannabis.
Of those who reported using cannabis in the past 12 months, 78% said they believe that cannabis use impairs one’s ability to drive, while 13% responded that it depends, and 6% responded that it did not impair one’s ability to drive.
The Canadian Cannabis Survey was launched in 2017 and has been conducted annually since 2018 to create a better understanding of cannabis use and consumption habits in Canada in the wake of the legalization of non-medical cannabis in October 2018.
Testing will take place using equipment within the Brock-Niagara Validation, Prototyping and Manufacturing Institute (VPMI).
“The cannabis analysis license truly opens the doors for the types of support that the VPMI can provide for the industry across the Niagara region, Ontario, and Canada,” says VPMI Scientific Director and Associate Professor of Chemistry Paul Zelisko.
“The licence will also permit the VPMI to support stakeholders in typing cannabis strains for more targeted and personalized applications and to help those within the industry to find value added compounds in waste materials to promote a more circular economy,” he adds.
These waste materials can include cannabis leaves, stems, and roots. Zelisko says.
“Discovering valuable compounds in this waste material can help a company mitigate costly disposal fees and/or develop new revenue streams,” he says.
The testing will also help companies look into the addition of particular flavours and scents to their cannabis edible, beverage, and vaping products to ensure products remain within Health Canada’s allowable THC limits.
Brock’s Acting Vice-President of Research, Michelle McGinn, says the new license is “a milestone” for the University and the Niagara region.
“It opens a new frontier for cannabis research that has immense implications for public health and economic growth,” says McGinn. “Consistent with VPMI’s mission, we are applying our specialized knowledge and state-of-the-art equipment to solve real-world challenges and thereby demonstrating how science and business flourish together.”
Health Canada has also renewed a research-related cannabis license granted to Brock University in 2019, one of the country’s first universities to receive a cannabis-related research and development license.
That license allowed Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) researchers and local industry partners to identify plant virus infections in cannabis and to develop cannabis-infused drink technology.
An analytical testing licence from Health Canada allows for activities such as testing for chemical contaminants, microbial contaminants, cannabinoid content, dissolution or disintegration, sterility, stability testing, and/or pesticides.
Health Canada currently lists 136 laboratories as being authorized to conduct analytics testing under the federal Cannabis Act. Brock’s new licence was issued on October 24, 2024.
A new study conducted in New Brunswick reveals high levels of chemical contaminants in illicit cannabis vape cartridges, including high levels of pesticide contamination.
The study, released by RPC Labs, an analytical testing lab, looked at chemical analysis of cannabis vape carts, extracts like hash and shatter, dried cannabis flower, and edibles. RPC is New Brunswick’s provincial research organization.
Results also showed THC levels in illicit products much lower than the labelled amount, with edibles and vapes being from 16% to 86% less THC than the packaging claimed.
They tested 31 illicit cannabis samples (18 vape cartridges, three packages of shatter, one of hash, and one infused pre-roll, plus three flower samples and four edible samples). RPC also tested 10 legal cannabis vape cartridges, which were analyzed for total THC and chemical contaminants (pesticides, heavy metals, residual solvents).
The samples of unregulated products were from materials seized by law enforcement in New Brunswick in early 2024 and then provided to RPC. The 10 legal vapes were sourced from CannabisNB and represented 10 different products from different producers.
Andrien Rackov, the lead author of the study and the director of research and controlled substances at RPC (Research & Productivity Council), says one of the goals with this kind of research is to provide a clearer picture of what is in products in the illicit market across Canada.
“You really don’t know what you’re getting and these products are not being screened for contaminants.”
Andrien Rackov, Research & Productivity Council
This is the second time RPC has conducted this kind of sampling on products seized from the illicit market, the first in 2021 primarily looked at flower and edibles. He says this time they wanted to look at concentrates, especially vape pens in the illicit market.
“This is the importance of continued studies,” Rackov tells StratCann. “The more studies done over time, you can take all of that data together. It starts to paint a pretty clear picture, and we see this as adding to that picture.”
“The intent here is very much for people to have a better understanding of the reality of the illicit cannabis market,” he adds. “You really don’t know what you’re getting and these products are not being screened for contaminants.”
While there have been isolated instances of contaminants found in products from the legal market, Rackov also points out that these are more likely to be discovered through active product testing in the legal supply chains, and can come with corrective actions like product recalls and public notices. With illegal products, consumers have no way to hold producers accountable.
“If there are any issues that pop up with legal cannabis, we actually have mechanisms for doing recalls, investigations, whether it’s cannabis or the salad you buy at the grocery store, you can actually try to do something about it as opposed to illicit products where you’re not going to know what you’re getting.”
Although the sampling RPC has done has been on products seized from the unlicensed market in New Brunswick, he also argues that similar testing in other provinces helps show these results are not isolated incidents, but rather reflect the current state of Canada’s illegal cannabis market.
Some of the pesticides present in cannabis vape carts from the unregulated cannabis market in New Brunswick. Chart via RPC.
Alarming levels of chemical contaminants
The results show not only “alarming” levels of chemical contaminants in illicit cannabis vape cartridges and extracts, including a 93% positivity rate for pesticide contamination, but also revealed that the illicit vapes and edibles were often well below their stated THC label claims.
While all legal vape samples had THC label claims that were compliant with Health Canada regulations that allow for a 15% discrepancy in label claims, 10 of the 11 illicit cannabis vapes that had THC label claims were 16% to 24% lower than the THC listed on the label or package.
In addition, all four edible products from the illicit market included in the test were from 42% to 86% below the label claim for THC levels. One gummy that was advertised as having 50 mg THC actually contained only 6.81 mg THC. A cannabis chocolate from the illicit market that claimed to have had 600 mg THC per piece was actually 272 mg THC per piece.
None of the legal vape samples had pesticides detected at the Health Canada limits, but 25 of 27 of the illicit cannabis extracts and cannabis flower (which includes vapes) products tested had pesticides detected above Health Canada limits, in some cases three orders of magnitude above the limit.
Samples collected from the illicit market included 18 vape cartridges, three samples of shatter, one of hash, and two infused pre-rolls. The dried flower samples were one pre-roll and two dried flower, while the edibles were from two chocolates and two gummies.
Graph via RPC
The gap between label claims and testing results
Of the 10 legal vape carts tested, label claims for THC were all less than 5% difference, while one cart was found to have 109.4% more CBD than advertised (1.6 mg/g label claim vs 3.35 mg/g actual).
Mylcobutinil, commonly used as a fungicide to deal with things such as powdery mildew, was found in 22 of the 27 samples from the illicit market. RPC found 31 different pest control products above Health Canada’s allowable limits. One sample showed myclobutanil present at 63 mg/kg – more than 3,000 times above the Health Canada limit of 0.02 mg/kg for this pest control product.
Boscalid, another fungicide often used for bud rot, was found in 17 samples. Acequinocyl, an insecticide, was found in 16 of the illicit market samples. Sixteen samples had five or more pesticides detected above Health Canada’s allowable limits, with one vape cart having 22 pesticides above Health Canada limits. Only two samples from the illicit market, both shatter, had no detectable amounts of pesticides.
Seized cannabis products displayed by law enforcement in New Brunswick earlier this year
Heavy metals and elemental impurities
In addition to pesticides and cannabinoid levels, RPC also tested samples (except the edibles) for elemental impurities, including arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury.
All 10 legal cannabis vape carts showed these heavy metals at acceptable levels except for one with lead detected at 1.49 µg/g. The research report notes that this lead may have leached into the cannabis vape distillate from the heating element in the vape cartridge or other packaging components.
All vape products were tested as they were in the packaging, rather than following the heating and cooling cycle of consumer use.
Of the 27 illicit samples tested for heavy metals, seven had values above the allowable reporting limits. Only one of the illicit vape carts had heavy metals over allowable limits (0.17 µg/g), but the hash, both infused pre-rolls, both dried flower samples, and one pre-roll all had levels of at least one heavy metal well over the allowable detectable limit.
The hash was found to have higher levels of arsenic, cadmium, and lead, while the infused pre-rolls were found to have cadmium, lead, and mercury.
A need for continued research
Stability studies, extractable/leachable studies, and screening of components used for making vape cartridges would be useful for understanding more about the source of metal contamination.
Funding for this study was obtained from the Cannabis Education and Awareness Fund (Government of New Brunswick). The New Brunswick Department of Justice and Public Safety legally provided the Illicit samples to RPC Labs.
Similar research results have come from other organizations working with provincial governments in recent years showing high levels of pesticides and inaccurate labelling of products from the unregulated and illicit market.
A 2021 report from the New Brunswick Research and Productivity Council found THC levels in the black market were much lower than advertised and also found high levels of moulds, heavy metals, and pesticides.
A 2022 study from the National Research Council on behalf of the OCS and Ontario Provincial Police showed that 86% (19 out of 22) of the illegal cannabis edibles tested contained multiple pesticides, in many cases at levels several hundred times above Health Canada’s limits. THC levels in those edibles were also often much lower than advertised.
British Columbia has released similar testing results looking at illicit products, as well.
A Vancouver Island cannabis nursery has teamed up with BC’s Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) to develop affordable methods for growers to more accurately identify what cannabis cultivars they are growing.
Life Cycle Botanics, a cannabis nursery located just north of Nanaimo, BC, has been partnering with researchers at KPU in 2024 to develop a barcoding project for cannabis that creates a library of known cultivars.
The process creates a database of Short Sequence Repeats, or SSRs, which are repeating sequences of DNA that are used as molecular markers in genetics. By working with a cannabis nursery with a large array of cannabis cultivars to draw from, KPU’s researchers could utilize their knowledge and experience with documenting these SSRs, creating the foundation for an expanding library of known cultivars.
The benefit for growers, explains Andrew Hand, head of science at Life Cycle Botanics, is that this can both help them better identify cultivars they have in-house, as well as serve as IP protection by creating a way to accurately identify any of their exclusive cultivars being used by other cultivators without permission. The project with KPU is nearing completion, at which point they hope to release it to other growers.
It’s a well-known technology, he explains, and is an easy and cost-effective way to identify one plant phenotype, in this case cannabis, from another.
“For the most part, even experts have a hard time splitting hairs between strains when they’re in their vegetative state. So this is a way to be able to determine, definitely, without needing to flower a plant, ‘yes, this phenotype is what we think it is’”.
“[KPU] have been great to work with, and have done a great job helping us document this entire process,” Hand tells StratCann. “We’re right on schedule where we have these regions identified and they’re being validated and we’re almost ready to go so we can utilize this technology internally, or to provide for other growers.”
In instances where a plant may have been mislabelled, or even inaccurately identified in the first place, or simply lost in the crowd, such cost-effective technology, continues Hand, can help quickly and easily get a mother room back into order. Given the amount of genetic drift in some cannabis cultivars, as well as how easy such misidentification can be, this can lead to problems for breeders and growers alike who might otherwise need to grow a plant out for several weeks or months to know its true genetic expression. This testing will save that time and effort.
This can also help more rapidly identify any new cultivars, he notes.
“We’ve developed a barcode database for all of our strains [at Life cycle]. We know what the barcode should physically look like when you do this test. So if we have a bunch of unknown plants, we would test against our known catalogue of barcodes. And if it doesn’t line up, then we know we have a new genotype.”
In addition, as more breeders and nurseries are selling their unique cultivars to commercial growers, often under a limited or exclusive contract, such testing can help protect that IP, he adds.
Dr. Paul Adams, the Director of the KPU Applied Genomics Centre, says the partnership is like many others his department has with different branches of agriculture. By partnering with LCB, his team has access to a greater cannabis genetic bank, while KPU offers the equipment and expertise, as well as interpretation of the data they collect.
“Our entire focus is using genomic, genetic tools to support agriculture. We have a bunch of…high tech equipment and a bunch of people who know how to use that technology and we use it to support agriculture in whatever way they need.”
Another valuable application of the technology, he adds, is for breeding, by selecting for desirable traits or selecting out undesirable traits.
“There’s actually quite a bit you can do in terms of cultivar development and breeding strategies,” says Adams.More about KPU’s program is available here.
A new cannabis consumption lounge is now open in downtown Toronto, and it’s looking to explore the relationship between cannabis consumption and music.
Operating alongside cannabis retailer Body and Spirit Cannabis and Lit Research, Club Lit is a new, legally operating cannabis consumption lounge at 361 Yonge Street.
Like its neighbour at Lit Research, the Club Lit lounge operates for research purposes only. An example of that research is a new observational study, in collaboration with Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), to better understand how cannabis influences auditory experiences and musical enjoyment.
The new program is launching with a grant from the Science of Music, Auditory Research, and Technology (SMART) Lab at TMU, located just steps away from Club Lit.
Made possible by an Accelerate Grant from Canadian nonprofit Mitacs, the SMART Lab will utilize the new cannabis consumption space to explore how the level of high may affect how a listener engages with music.
“The research we conduct in this space will break new ground,” says Frank Russo, Director of the SMART Lab. “I am particularly interested in the concept of absorption in music and to see how it might be altered while under the influence. Looking ahead, I can see how this might even open new avenues of research on music-based treatments for mental health.”
Club Lit is located on the same block as TMU’s Student Learning Centre, providing the centre with more immediate access to a real-world laboratory for cannabis research and education.
Al Shefsky, President of Cannadigm, which operates Lit Research, said: “We are excited to collaborate with TMU on this groundbreaking research initiative at Club Lit. Cannadigm is leveraging our team’s extensive cannabis knowledge and expertise to enhance consumer experiences, supporting academic research that has the potential to improve people’s enjoyment and quality of life.”
Shefsky also owns and operates the neighbouring cannabis store Body and Spirit Cannabis and is the founder of Lit Research. Launched in 2022, the latter has been hosting regular sessions that seek to help cannabis producers and brands provide a unique, value-added educational experience to anyone looking to learn more about their products.
The Health Canada-licensed research facility says it has administered and collected data from over 12,000 individual product testing sessions to date. Cannadigm’s new consumption space, Club Lit, is located adjacent to but separate from Lit Research and bills itself as a real-world observational laboratory where participants may consume cannabis while enjoying music and authentic cannabis culture, all in support of academic research and education.
Club Lit is located at 361 Yonge Street, Unit C, in the heart of Downtown Toronto. More info on Club Lit can be found here.
A Quebec company that helps bridge the gap in medical cannabis access launched a new study this week that will look at the outcomes and effectiveness of different medical cannabis treatment plans.
Santé Cannabis, a community-based centre focussing on medical cannabis care and clinical research for more than a decade, will be drawing on this experience to lead the recruitment of 3,000 people using cannabis for medical purposes.
The study is also supported by grants from Aurora Cannabis, Tilray Medical, and Vectura Fertin Pharma, a Singapore-based company working with cannabinoids. Santé is also seeking assistance from other organizations.
“This study will investigate outcomes of a new wave of medical cannabis product formats, including capsules, tablets and innovative sublingual products, as well as new cannabinoid formulations such as CBN and CBG,” says Dr. Lorne Wiseblatt, a family medicine and palliative care physician with Santé Cannabis. “As clinicians, we must uphold our responsibility to support our patients with safe and effective treatment options.”
Dr. Michael Dworkind, the Medical Director & Co-founder of Santé Cannabis and an Associate Professor in Family Medicine at McGill University, adds:
“While medical cannabis has been legally accessible in Canada for almost 25 years, there are still many unanswered clinical questions to support its therapeutic use for conditions including chronic pain, epilepsy, spasticity, sleep, anxiety, and depression. This is such an important initiative to prioritize patients’ needs in the age of cannabis legalization.”
Santé Cannabis has—with the help of its team of physicians, nurses, and support staff—provided assessment and support to more than 20,000 patients since 2014, and is Canada’s first independently accredited cannabis Contract Research Organization (CRO).
The organization also holds four Cannabis Research Licences, allowing it to conduct clinical trials and observational studies. It also launched a patient-centred Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy program in 2024 to advance access to legal treatments, improve research & insurance coverage, and lead the development of innovative supportive care models.
There were more than 180,000 medical client registrations with federally licensed sellers of cannabis for medical purposes in March 2024, the most recent figures available. The average daily amount authorized by healthcare practitioners for individuals registered to access cannabis for medical purposes from federally licensed sellers was 2.4 grams per day.
A recent study highlights how the illicit cannabis markets in Canada, especially in British Columbia and Ontario, have changed since cannabis was legalized in 2018.
The report says the effort to legalize happened too quickly to address some of the more uniquely Canadian issues like diversion from the personal/designated production licences for medical cannabis or finding a balance with Indigenous communities and provincial governments’ jurisdictional challenges.
While quotes in the study are from a range of sources, many of them are from law enforcement officials.
Abuse of personal/designated licenses
The first part of the report highlights what interviewees said is an increase in longtime abuse of Canada’s personal and designated production licences for cannabis for medical purposes. While such licences ensure Canadians who are authorized to use cannabis for such purposes have a way of accessing it outside of the commercial licensed producer program, diversion from these licences for profit is also well-known and documented.
Although these licences have been around for some two decades, several of those interviewed, notes the report, claim that abuse of these licences has increased since cannabis was legalized in late 2018. This increase is in terms of the number of illicit production sites that have licences and the size of those production sites.
“Governments have been, I think, cautious about even talking about removing the personal/designated registrations,” an unnamed federal government official in Ontario is quoted as saying. “Because of the history of litigation, there is worry that by removing it, we might trigger more court activity and more adverse decisions. The threshold for winning that argument is really, really high. It’s not going to be about organized crime and its impacts. It’s going to be about your mom who has been using a designated licence to let your dad grow 12 plants for your mom who needs it for end of life care. And then we’re going to have to prove in court that the scenario where your mom is growing 12 plants with your dad’s help is so dangerous that we have to pull this away from everybody.”
Production in Indigenous communities
Another facet of the cannabis market covered by the study is cannabis production in Indigenous communities in Canada, with researchers speaking to Indigenous licence holders operating within and outside of the federal and provincial regulations.
Researchers say, based on interviews with those subjects, that the latter contains both small-scale “grey zone” operators as well as the presence of organized crime often operating without the approval of the communities they do business in. These types of stores and businesses are more often associated with increases in violent crimes in these communities, such as armed robberies.
“Illicit cannabis was not on the radar before legalization,” says one Indigenous community member in Ontario. “There were some grow operations in houses, but nothing substantial. Now there are both illegal and legal store-fronts for selling/distribution.”
“Illicit stores on indigenous lands have steadily increased since legalization,” said a law enforcement officer in BC. “Once the ones outside of Indigenous lands were closed down, we saw them pop up there. Organized crime is associated with some of those stores, and the Indigenous governments have said they are. When Indigenous communities don’t want the stores they reach out to Canadian law enforcement to get rid of them.”
Increase in exports to the US
A third piece of the illicit cannabis market in Canada covered by the study is exports, which the paper says are primarily to the United States. These exports have only increased since legalization, partly due to increased domestic competition from the legal market.
In addition, this increased competition in the cannabis space has led some of these organized crime groups that were previously involved with cannabis production and distribution to move to psilocybin mushrooms, while others have opiates.
“Prior to legalization,” says a law enforcement officer in Ontario, “you would see examples of large-scale trafficking and distribution within Canada. We don’t see that anymore. Instead, most examples of sophisticated trafficking are destined for the United States.”
Moving forward
“One of the negative impacts [of legalization] is that police have not been as invested as they used to in cannabis investigations and/or prosecutions,” said a law enforcement Officer in BC.
The study offers no specific solutions to these challenges but highlights the need for further investigation of these different trends in the market to better understand the unique nature of Canada’s evolving cannabis landscape.
The population of those over 18 in Canada who reported using cannabis in the past 12 months and those who reported that they had used cannabis daily or almost daily in the past 12 months declined in 2023 after four years of annual growth.
The new figures come from surveys of Canadians provided by Statistics Canada, called the Canadian Community Health Survey. In addition to asking about cannabis consumption, the survey includes questions about alcohol, tobacco and e-cigarette use, as well as diet and other quality-of-life-related questions.
In 2019, the first year such data was provided, 6.1 million people in Canada over the age of 18 reported using cannabis in the last 12 months. This number increased to 6.5 million, 6.6 million, and 7.1 million in the subsequent years, before dropping to 6.4 million in 2023.
Those who reported using cannabis daily or almost daily in the past year showed a similar pattern. In 2019, 1.6 million reported using cannabis daily or nearly daily. This increased to 1.68 million, 1.69 million, and 1.9 million in the following years, before dropping to 1.7 million in 2023.
Other vice products showed declines in 2023 as well. Those who reported smoking tobacco products on a daily basis were down compared to 2020, as were those who reported heavy drinking. Heavy drinking refers to males who reported having five or more drinks, or women who reported having four or more drinks, on one occasion, at least once a month in the past year. Half of Canadian adults reported not drinking any alcohol in the past seven days in 2023.
Those who said they used e-cigarettes or vaping devices in the past 30 days, though, increased in 2023 compared to 2022 (the first year this data was collected).
The University of British Columbia (UBC) has received a grant to help improve the breeding of more fruity-smelling cannabis.
The $500,000 grant, provided by Genome British Columbia (Genome BC), was announced by Aurora Cannabis Inc., which says the project, Genomics-enabled Aroma Breeding in Cannabis, will directly support the companies’ genetics work around cannabis.
The project is led by Dr. Jose Celedon, Principal Scientist, Breeding and Genetics at Aurora, and by Dr. Joerg Bohlmann, a professor at UBC, focusing on validating genetic and chemical markers for fruity aroma in cannabis.
“Through this work Aurora will deepen our understanding of cannabis genetics with a focus on aromas, a leading driver of consumer preference that directly impacts the user experience,” said Dr. Jose Celedon, Director, Breeding and Genetics at Aurora.
“By collaborating with UBC on this Genome BC-funded project, we are able to fully execute this aroma research without the typical financial constraints, allowing us to continue simultaneous work on additional important breeding traits, such as yield, potency and disease resistance. We are eager to see the outcomes of our work and the impact on the future of cannabis breeding.”
Aurora recently patented a series of genetic and chemical markers for fruity aroma, which were identified through its CanD diversity panel. This new collaboration, says the cannabis company, will allow Aurora to validate these markers using cutting-edge approaches that would otherwise require significant funding. The data generated from this work will support the discovery and launch of cultivars with unique and improved aromas, alongside high yield and potency.
Aurora’s in-kind contributions to the project include conducting sensory analysis of fruity aromas, and leading bioinformatic analyses with in-house software. UBC’s contributions to the project through Genome BC funding will involve sequencing transcriptomes, analyzing the volatile chemistry, and conducting functional characterization of the genes responsible for fruity aromas in cannabis.
If successful, Aurora hopes the methods developed in this project can then be adapted to explore other aromas, strengthening the publicly traded cannabis company’s “aroma-related intellectual property portfolio.”
Genome BC is a not-for-profit organization that has helped conduct genomics research and innovation for nearly 25 years. Genome BC has attracted over $1 billion in direct co-investment to the province, which has contributed to funding more than 550 genomics research and innovation projects. In 2020, Genome BC announced a $4.3 million project to breed powdery mildew-resistant cannabis cultivars.
A new study from the US says that the adoption of medical cannabis laws may contribute to decreases in healthcare costs.
A new review published in the Journal of Applied Health Economics and Health Policy examines health care costs in US states that adopted medical cannabis laws. The authors say there was a “significant” decrease (3.4%) in the average total premium per employee for single coverage plans per year in those states that allow some form of medical cannabis access.
As awareness of the therapeutic potential of cannabis grows, employers must adapt their benefits to reflect this evolving understanding.
Emily Fisher, CEO & founder of Leafwell
The researchers compare these costs with states without state-legal access to medical cannabis, concluding that if all people in all 50 states had legal access to medical cannabis, employers and employees could collectively save billions on healthcare coverage, potentially reducing healthcare expenditure’s contribution to GDP by 0.65% (based on 2022 figures).
The paper estimates that employers and employees could see combined savings of $14.9 billion a year for single coverage plans if all 50 US states had legal access to medical cannabis.
In 2023, the US had around four million people registered to access cannabis for medical purposes across 38 states. The paper speculates there are likely many more than that who are not captured through registration as not all states require it.
Researchers say the impact of these changes on private health insurance costs can be seen just five years after a state’s medical cannabis laws come into effect. The paper argues that one reason for the savings is that cannabis, which is often not covered by insurance providers, is often used instead of medications like opioids that are covered by those insurance plans.
The paper also cites research showing that those who use cannabis are more likely to exercise, that cannabis users have lower BMI, and that cannabis use can lead to less alcohol use.
This study looked at five different outcomes, the total average premium costs per employee for single family and employee-plus-one health insurance plans, and the total average deductible costs for single and family health insurance plans.
In addition to the 3.4% decrease in the average total premium per employee for single coverage plans per year in those states that allow some form of medical cannabis access, researchers noted a 2.5% decrease in the average total premium cost for employee-plus-one coverage plans. Other plans did not show a similar decrease.
The four researchers who compiled the paper are all employees of and hold stock or stock options in a company that connects medical cannabis patients to physicians called Leafwell. No Leafwell data were used as part of their analysis.
“Cannabis has been shown to offer significant relief for various conditions, from chronic pain to mental health issues, and ensuring access through insurance can profoundly impact the well-being and productivity of employees,” said Emily Fisher, CEO & founder of Leafwell, in a company press release. “As awareness of the therapeutic potential of cannabis grows, employers must adapt their benefits to reflect this evolving understanding.”
A Canadian industrial hemp plant breeding company with an emphasis on minor cannabinoids has received more than half a million dollars in funding from the AgriScience Program by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP).
Cannabis Orchards Inc., located in Kemptville, Ontario, recently announced two awards that it says will support its research into the genetic improvement of industrial hemp and the advancement of minor cannabinoid research.
The first grant, for $404,305 from the AgriScience Program, supports Orchards’ project that aims to develop seedless triploid hemp lines for the production of cannabidiol (CBD) and minor cannabinoids such as cannabigerol (CBG) and cannabichromene (CBC).
By developing novel triploid hemp lines, Cannabis Orchards hopes to open new markets and maximize yields and profits for hemp farmers by providing them with hemp varieties capable of delivering minor cannabinoid profiles.
Dr. Jamie Ghossein, CEO of Cannabis Orchards, commented in a company press release, “The potential of minor cannabinoids in therapeutic applications is vast, yet they remain underutilized due to their scarcity. Our research and development efforts are dedicated to unlocking this potential, ultimately providing more effective treatment options for a variety of conditions and opening new commercialization opportunities for farmers and the Canadian cannabinoid industry.”
The second grant is for $196,000 from NRC IRAP, which supports a project focused on developing triploid hemp varieties through polyploidization that will increase biomass yield and cannabinoid content, while reducing the risk of unwanted cross-pollination by rendering plants infertile.
Dr. Ghossein added, “This grant from NRC IRAP is a significant endorsement of our cutting-edge research in polyploidy and hemp trait development. Our project will enable the development of seedless triploid hemp varieties, ensuring higher yields and more consistent quality for farmers and cannabinoid processors. By preventing unwanted pollination and enhancing desirable traits, we are paving the way for the next generation of industrial hemp genetics by maximizing yields for farmers and providing high-quality cannabinoid inputs to processors.”
Both projects began in early 2024 and are expected to conclude by 2026.
The company also recently announced that its hemp cultivar Vendetta has been officially added to the Health Canada List of Approved Cultivars (LOAC) as of August 12, 2024. Orchards says the cultivar is the first hemp variety with a near 1:1 ratio of CBD to CBDV (cannabidivarin), a minor cannabinoid.
The company says Vendetta will be available to licensed hemp growers in Canada as feminized seed starting in Spring 2025, and biomass will be made available to commercial processors in Fall 2025 exclusively through Cannabis Orchards. Cannabis Orchards holds a Good agricultural and collecting practice certification for biomass cultivation.
The company offers an array of hemp biomass on its website, including high CBD, high CBG, high CBDV, and feminized hemp seed.
Organigram announced the preliminary results of a new clinical study on nanoemulsion technology this week in collaboration with its partner, British American Tobacco (BAT).
The clinical pharmacokinetic study looks at the effectiveness of Organigram’s new nanoemulsion technology in providing a more rapid onset for ingestible cannabis products by improving the bioavailability of various cannabinoids.
The full results of the study, concluded this past January, will be published in October 2024. According to the New Brunswick cannabis producer, the preliminary results show faster onset compared to traditional ingestible products, up to double the cannabinoid delivery at peak compared to the control group, and early indicators of a more predictable duration of the effects of cannabis.
The Product Development Collaboration (PDC) is a joint collaboration between BAT and Organigram and was established to focus on developing next-generation cannabis products.
Since 2021, BAT, the British multinational that manufactures and sells cigarettes, tobacco, and other nicotine products, has made several minority investments in the cannabis space, including its 19.9% equity in Organigram in their “Beyond Nicotine” campaign.
In 2023, BAT announced plans to invest another nearly $125 million into Organigram, more than doubling its equity position in the cannabis company from about 20% to 45%.
The PDC was created as part of BAT’s first round of investment with Organigram. The goal is to create a Center of Excellence at Organigram’s Moncton campus, focussed on developing the next generation of cannabis products, IP, and technologies.
The PDC is also in late-stage development of an array of emulsions, novel vapour formulations, flavour innovations, and packaging solutions that will be applied across some products in Organigram’s portfolio in calendar year 2024, according to the cannabis producer’s most recent investor presentation.
“We are thrilled with the study findings,” said Borna Zlamalik, SVP of Innovation and R&D, in a press release. “The patent-pending nanoemulsion technology, FAST™, promises to unlock the power of the ingested cannabinoids and allow consumers to navigate and control their dosage experience more accurately – a key consumer pain point in the ingestible product space. These technological advances underscore Organigram’s commitment to consumers and to developing science-driven innovations.”
“As a responsible licensed producer, our aim is to thoroughly educate consumers about the effects of this technology, empowering them to enjoy a controlled and predictable ingestible experience,” added Mr. Zlamalik.
Such research can also allow a federally licensed cannabis producer like Organigram to better market its products while ensuring any product claims adhere to Health Canada regulations.
Organigram and BAT say they believe the 19-day in-clinic, eight-arm study is one of the largest pharmacokinetic studies targeted at adult-use recreational cannabis products.
The research was undertaken by a third-party clinical research organization that evaluated cannabinoid absorption across three product formats to determine the effectiveness of the innovative delivery system.
Organigram hopes to commercialize FAST™ in the fall of 2024, starting with cannabis gummies. According to their most recent investor presentation, manufacturing scale-up trials for these gummies are reportedly already underway at Organigram’s 51,000 sq. ft. edibles facility in Winnipeg.
“Organigram has always been focused on consumer-centric innovation as one of its core differentiators and our commitment to the development of advanced technologies underscores this commitment,” said Beena Goldenberg, CEO of Organigram. “We are confident that our investment in this technology will pave the way for our continued success in the edibles space both here and in the future abroad.”
The number of reports received by Health Canada of adverse reactions associated with cannabis has declined for the third year in a row.
The majority of those reports are associated with legal cannabis products, which also declined in the past year after an increase in 2021.
Of the 159 reports received in 2022, 92 were unique cases associated with legal cannabis products. In 2021, there were 260 reports, 174 of which were associated with legal cannabis products. In 2020, there were 287 reports, 159 of which were associated with legal cannabis products.
In 2019 (October 17, 2018-December 31, 2019), there were 219 adverse reaction reports to Health Canada’s Canada Vigilance Database, with 151 associated with legal cannabis products from the medical and non-medical supply chains.
The majority of reports in 2022 come from the cannabis licence holder.
Of the adverse report cases related to cannabis in 2022, 40% involved males and 28% involved females, while 51% involved cannabis used for medical purposes (self-reported). As in previous years, the majority of cases (53%) involved ingestible cannabis liquid extracts (that is, ingestible cannabis oils and softgels).
However, when looking at only reports associated with legal products, 47% were associated with inhalation, while 46% were associated with oral consumption.
Three-quarters of these reports were considered serious. According to Health Canada, a “serious adverse reaction” is an adverse reaction that requires inpatient hospitalization or prolongation of existing hospitalization, causes congenital malformation, results in persistent or significant disability or incapacity, is life-threatening, or results in death.
The most commonly reported symptoms were headache, seizure, hallucination, trouble breathing, and drug effectiveness.
There was also one suspected case of vaping-associated lung injury (VALI) that was reported as involving a legal cannabis product in 2022.
There were two cases in 2022 associated with legal cannabis products that resulted in fatal outcomes, although one of these was connected to a case in 2021.
That case from 2021, also reported as part of 2022’s results, involved two cannabis vaping products “with other concomitant medications in a patient with complex medical history and several risk factors who experienced seizures which led to hospital admission then death.”
Health Canada notes that while the use of the cannabis vape may have caused an initial seizure in the patient, it was less likely to be the cause of death, which was most likely due to a staphylococcal infection, of which the source was the temporary hemodialysis line placed in the patient to address deteriorating kidney function.
The second fatal case report received in 2022 was connected to a single ingestible cannabis oil product used for medical purposes, with an authorization, to treat symptoms related to arthralgia (joint stiffness). Health Canada notes that the individual had a complex medical history and was using multiple concomitant health medications in addition to the cannabis product, and assessed the event of seizure as “possibly related to the cannabis product while the outcome of death was assessed as unlikely.”
The Canadian cannabis industry has a higher rate of emissions than its US counterpart, although that rate varies significantly depending on which province.
This higher emissions rate is mainly due to colder climates, requiring more heating of indoor facilities, combined with the efficiency of each province’s electrical grid.
The investigation, led by a researcher at McGill University in Ontario, looks at the “global warming potential” (GWP) of indoor cannabis operations in Canada, calculated on a kg CO2 per kg of dried cannabis flower basis. Although this has been studied in the US, this study is the first to compare American numbers with the Canadian industry.
BC was found to be the most efficient province for growing cannabis due to milder climates and a less polluting electrical grid. In comparison, Alberta was found to be the province with the highest GWP, given its colder climate and more emissions from the power grid used to keep those grow rooms temperature-controlled.
Indoor cannabis operations in colder locations have a higher GWP primarily because of the increased need for natural gas-powered heating, which can account for half of the facility’s GWP. Cannabis grown outdoors can be six to ten times less carbon intensive than indoor cannabis and can reduce those impacts by 90%.
However, the researchers’ assumptions that electrical grid efficiency would be a strong determinant of the GWP of cannabis production was incorrect, as the climate itself was a factor in how much energy was needed. In more humid climates, for example, more power is required to manage that humidity through the growing and drying/curing process, leading to higher GWP.
After BC, PEI, Ontario, and Quebec were the most efficient places to grow indoor cannabis in terms of GWP, while Manitoba, Yukon, Saskatchewan, and Alberta were the least efficient. The research paper also asks if this count is at least partly mediated through incentives for growers in those less-efficient provinces to adopt more carbon-efficient growing methods. In the case of Alberta and Quebec, switching to electrical forms of heating rather than natural gas could lower the GWP.
“Colder locations have higher GWP because of the increased need for NG-powered heating processes. Heating via NG combustion easily accounts for 50% of the GWP. It could be said that production of cannabis grown in QC and AB could be having a disproportionate effect on the carbon footprint of the industry versus cannabis grown in ON and BC. There is a need to question whether incentives for QC and AB producers to adopt carbon-reducing strategy is needed.”
One suggestion the researchers make is to better label and identify less carbon-intensive products for consumers, encouraging them to make more environmentally friendly choices.
A study from researchers in Ontario says that some cannabis oils on the market in Canada are inaccurately labelled for THC and CBD.
While there have been many studies looking at the accuracy of labelling on cannabis flower and edibles, and some extracts, this is potentially the first study to look at legal cannabis oils.
In a case series study, researchers at McMaster University and St Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton tested 30 cannabis oil products available on the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) website.
The amount of THC and CBD in those products was then tested by the Centre for Microbial Chemical Biology at McMaster University for comparison against the amounts listed on the product label.
While none of the products contained significantly more THC than the labelled amount, 12 of the 30 tested products were found to be outside of the allowable variable limit for THC, and three products were outside the variability limit for CBD.
Of the 16 cannabis oils tested that had a label amount of 2.5 mg/g THC or greater, seven of them had amounts that were lower than what was labelled by more than the 15% allowable variance.
In addition, the study found discrepancies between the amount of THC and CBD listed on the OCS website’s product description for 10 of 30 oil products.
Five products were also found to be labelled with inconsistent listings of active THC/CBD and total THC/CBD, with one product being labelled as having 5 mg/g CBD but found to be 26 mg/g total CBD upon secondary testing. Unlike products like dried flower, cannabis oils of the type the study looked at should generally have the same active and total THC/CBD amounts.
The researchers involved argue that their findings merit greater quality control efforts by the industry, while also noting the limited scope of their research. The OCS currently lists around 50 cannabis oil SKUs online.
A recent study in Ontario looking at the effects of edible cannabis on simulated driving and blood THC levels found that driving impairment was not correlated with blood THC.
The study is the first of its kind to look at the impact of cannabis edibles on simulated driving, with researchers using an average dose of around 7.3 mg THC to provide real-world context for the impact legally available cannabis can have on driving.
The 22 participants (sixteen male and six female) were required to have a valid Ontario driver’s licence, to have used cannabis edibles at least once in the past six months, and to drive at least once a month. Participants could be from 19-79 years of age.
Participants were asked to not use cannabis for 72 hours before the test, or any other drugs or alcohol for 12 hours. Researchers gave them three independent, pre-programmed scenarios, including a two-lane rural highway and a “potentially frustrating event” to test the drivers’ speed, and a lateral control test on a four-lane highway to rate drivers’ reaction time.
On average, participants chose to consume about 7.3 mg of THC with 2.14 mg CBD. Eleven chose the maximum of 10 mg THC, while ten chose edibles with 5 mg THC or less. A blood sample was then collected two hours after consuming the cannabis edible or a control candy.
The mean speed of the drivers who consumed a cannabis edible was found to decrease at the two-hour mark, but not at the four or six-hour mark. Some participants noted effects up to six hours after ingestion, with some reporting being less able or willing to drive up to six hours after consuming a cannabis edible.
While past studies have found evidence of increased swerving (“standard deviation of lateral position”) and decreased reaction time after smoking or vaping cannabis, these effects were not observed in this study.
The researchers speculate that this may be due to the relatively low amount of THC consumed, or the inability of the driving simulator to detect small changes in performance.
After two hours, blood THC was relatively low at about 2.8 ng/mL. Blood THC was significantly increased after consuming the cannabis edible, but the mean increases in blood THC were lower than those reported for smoked cannabis. Researchers also found no direct relationship between blood THC and driving impairment, speculating that “the present study suggests that blood THC may not be as useful for detection of impaired driving after edibles as it may be for the smoked route.”
“Analysis of the relationship of blood THC to SDLP (standard deviation of lateral position) or MS (mean speed) revealed no correlation with blood THC, which fits with emerging evidence from studies of smoked cannabis that there is no linear relationship between blood THC and driving impairment.”
The paper also speculates that it’s possible the participants had a high THC tolerance that allowed them to manage the effects of cannabis more effectively.
Twelve of the participants reported using cannabis at least once a day, while another six reported consuming it more than once a week.
The study was approved by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Research Ethics Board and the Health Canada Research Ethics Board, and was conducted at CAMH in Toronto, Canada.
The Toronto Star has a video of someone using simulated driving equipment at their research centre.
The Alberta Government is looking into the impact of cannabis legalization on young people in the province.
The provincial government made their announcement on May 27, saying that now that more than five years have passed since cannabis was legalized in Canada, Alberta’s government is working with drug policy experts, doctors, and professors to examine the impacts of cannabis on people 25 and under.
The provincial government says it is providing a one-time grant of about $280,000 to conduct a review of the available evidence and data regarding the impacts of cannabis use on youth, in coordination with experts from the University of Alberta, University of Calgary, Dalhousie University, Harvard Medical School, and the University of Birmingham.
“We owe it to young Albertans and their families to make sure we fully understand the effects of legal cannabis,” says Dan Williams, Minister of Alberta Mental Health and Addiction. “We’re proud to bring together this group of respected health experts to provide insight and advice as we continue to navigate this evolving area of health care.”
The research team will report to the Minister of Mental Health and Addiction, and the work is expected to be completed in summer 2024. Alberta has the lowest age of access in Canada at 18. All other provinces and territories have an age of access of 19, except for Quebec, which has set the age of access at 21.
The government says the review could potentially inform future policy changes in Alberta and could recommend policy changes to ensure children and youth are protected from the harms of cannabis.
“As cannabis products have become more widely available, we must continue to evaluate their health impacts—particularly on young people whose brains are still developing,” says Blair Gibbs, a former advisor to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and policy consultant who is advising on the project. “I look forward to working with leading experts from around the world to closely examine the evidence and help inform decisions in the best interest of Albertans.”
In addition to Gibbs, the province lists: Dr. Sebastian Straube, professor and division director, Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta; Dr. Philip Tibbo, professor in the Department of Psychiatry with a cross-appointment in Psychology and Neuroscience at Dalhousie University; Dr. Charl Els, fellowship-trained addiction psychiatrist and occupational physician, clinical professor, Department of Psychiatry and Medicine, University of Alberta; Dr. Emily Hennessy, associate director of Biostatistics, Recovery Research Institute and assistant professor, Harvard Medical School; Dr. Victoria Burns, associate professor, University of Calgary, and director, University of Calgary Recovery Community and Recovery on Campus Alberta; and Dr. Ed Day, United Kingdom government’s drug recovery champion and clinical reader in Addiction Psychiatry at the Institute for Mental Health at the University of Birmingham.
The government of Alberta says it spends more than $1.55 billion annually on addiction and mental health care and supports, including prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery.
A recently published study looking at cannabis use rates in Ontario estimates that teens using cannabis are at an 11 times higher risk of developing a psychotic disorder compared to teens not using cannabis.
The study found a “strong but age-dependent association between cannabis use and psychotic disorders, consistent with the theory that adolescence is a particularly vulnerable time to use cannabis as the brain is still developing,” arguing that more evidence-based cannabis prevention strategies for adolescents are needed as more jurisdictions move to “liberalize cannabis use and perception of harm declines among youth.”
Younger Canadians are twice as likely to use cannabis than older Canadians according to data from Statistics Canada, although this rate depends on the age demographic. In 2023, 38% of adults aged 18 to 24 years and 35% aged 25 to 44 years reported having used cannabis in the previous 12 months, compared with just 15.5% of adults aged 45 years and older.
In 2023, about 1 in 10 adults aged 18 to 24 years (8.7%) and 25 to 44 years (10.3%) reported having used cannabis daily or almost daily in the previous 12 months, compared with 4.8% of adults aged 45 years and older.
A study released this week shows that the annual rate of Emergency Department visits among older people in Ontario increased post-legalization.
What many stories covering this new research paper overlook, however, is that rates were already increasing significantly in the years before legalization in late 2018. In fact, post-legalization, the rate of increase slowed considerably.
In addition, while many news articles on the paper are highlighting that there was an increase in these hospital visits in 2020—and attributing this to the introduction of cannabis edibles in Canada—they again overlook that cannabis edibles were not widely available in Canada in much of 2020.
While these products were made legal in late 2019, they did not become widely available, and at competitive prices, until mid-2021. This is a misunderstanding of the market, which has been repeated many times by researchers and the media reporting on their work.
The most recent study, published on May 20 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, shows that emergency department visits in Ontario for cannabis-related poisonings increased from 55 per 100,000 visits in 2015 to 107 in 2016, 190 in 2017, and 337 in 2018.
Figure: Annual Rates of Emergency Department (ED) Visits for Cannabis Poisoning in Ontario Older Adults, 2015-2022
It then increased to just 375, 392, and 462 in 2019, 2020, and 2021 before declining to 404 in 2022.
The most significant increases in this timeline covered by the study occurred in the years leading up to legalization. In addition, while the study and some articles on the study discuss an increase in emergency department visits related to the introduction of edibles, the increases in 2020 and even 2021 were very modest, especially compared to previous years.
The increase from 2019 to 2020 was just 17 per 100,000, while the increase from 2020-2021 (when edibles began to be more common in the legal market) was just 70 per 100,000. Then, in 2022, when these products were even more available and affordable, those visits actually declined by 58 per 100,000 compared to the previous year.
So, on the one hand, yes, there are notable increased emergency room visits among older Canadians related to cannabis use. And yes, this is a legitimate public health concern and cost. But to say this is caused by legalization, or specifically by cannabis edibles, is misleading. These figures were already rising in the years leading up to legalization—significantly so—and grew much less in the years following legalization, comparatively speaking.
In addition, in the most recent year recorded (2022), those visits declined from a peak, potentially supporting the idea that consumers are becoming more knowledgeable about how to self-regulate the use of these products and better manage any symptoms without needing to visit the emergency department.
Unfortunately, news reports that inaccurately attribute these increases specifically to legal edibles or to legalization in general simply serve to feed prohibitionist straw men. This is not new; we’ve seen similar issues in the past in regard to edibles and young people, with researchers and media seemingly unaware of the prevalence of illicit edibles.
One of the bigger stories this week was a rise in enforcement actions against cannabis consumers on the road in Saskatchewan.
CBC ran an in-depth piece, noting that the number of Saskatchewan drivers caught behind the wheel with THC in their system was 20 times higher last year than in 2019, according to Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI).
Global News looked into the difficulty in accurately distinguishing between detection of cannabinoids and actual impairment, and the questionable accuracy of equipment like Draeger’s DrugTest 5000.
In related news, a PEI man found by police behind the wheel of a parked running vehicle and listening to the radio while more than four times over the legal cannabis limit has received a jail sentence.
CBC also looked at a recycling program for cannabis packaging in Ontario started by the owner of the cannabis store Green Light District in Windsor. The article also speaks with an employee at another cannabis shop who launched a petition calling on the OCS and AGCO to adopt a sustainable packaging and container return program.
In the US, the AP reports that New York’s legal cannabis market has been hampered by inexperienced leaders who treated the state licensing agency like a “mission-driven” startup rather than a government office, according to an internal review released Friday.
New York’s Cannabis Director has been asked to step down as the Governor orders an overhaul of the state’s cannabis program.
A woman who arrived at Dublin airport from Canada with more than 12.5 kilos of cannabis in her suitcase has been jailed for four years. The 26-year-old was homeless in Toronto at the time of the offence in September and agreed to fly to Ireland with the cannabis in exchange for a payment of €3,000 (about $4,400 Canadian), a Dublin court heard.
Researchers in Canada have released the results of a new study on the development of molecular tools for cannabis breeders and researchers.
The goal of the research is to help develop tools to more easily identify specific genetic traits in cannabis sought by breeders, such as selecting traits for specific cannabinoid ratios for medical or non-medical applications.
This study unveils high-value markers linked to essential agronomic and morphological traits identified through genome-wide association studies conducted on 176 drug-type cannabis samples.
Four key productivity-related traits were identified—fresh biomass, dried flower weight, sexual maturity and harvest maturity, as well as stem diameter, canopy diameter, height, internode length index, and node counts. Samples showed a significant variety in all of these traits, from low and high total biomass, height, flowering time, etc.
One challenge in this type of work with cannabis, as explained in the research paper, is that the cannabis gene pool has been severely limited by prohibition and the specific demands of the commercial cannabis market. Despite this, cannabis still exhibits a notable level of phenotypic variation.
This limited gene pool for cannabis is a problem for breeders as the plant lacks the robust wild-type or landrace gene pool available to many other commercially cultivated plants. Although hemp-type cannabis is somewhat distinct from “drug-type” cannabis varieties, they share enough common features that it can make identifying genetic variations difficult but a “critical necessity.”
Because of this, the findings, although requiring further analysis, can play a role in more efficiently and effectively identifying the desired genetic traits different breeders seek. This will require continued and growing collaboration between researchers and industry to utilize this new genetic knowledge and translate it into practical, innovative, and sustainable breeding strategies.
“Our findings open new avenues for advancing cannabis breeding programs and addressing the diverse needs of emerging industries,” concludes the paper. “The application of a high-density genotyping approach yielded an extensive catalogue of high-quality SNPs, effectively capturing the genomic diversity of drug-type cannabis.
“The distribution of these markers across different chromosomes, coupled with high quality phenotypic data, facilitated the identification of molecular markers associated with complex agronomic and morphological traits. These markers hold great promise for further investigations to elucidate their functional links with phenotype variations, making them valuable assets for precision breeding efforts.”
Over one-third of adults aged 18 to 44 years and one in seven adults aged 45 years and older had used cannabis in 2023, according to Canada’s newest National Cannabis Survey.
The annual survey results were shared on March 18 and showed that 38.4% of people 18 to 24 years old and 15% of those over 45 reported consuming cannabis at least once in 2023.
When it comes to frequent use of cannabis, 8.7% of adults aged 18 to 24, 10.3% aged 25 to 44, and 4.8% over 45 years of age reported consuming cannabis daily or almost daily in 2023.
Prevalence of daily cannabis use among all Canadians by age group and gender, 2023
Unsurprisingly, flower remains the most commonly consumed product, with 62.1% of all age groups. Edibles followed closely behind at 57.1%.
Those under 45 were much more likely to consume dried flower, vape pens, and concentrates, while those over 45 were much more likely to consume oral cannabis oil and topicals.
Nearly 72% of consumers responded to getting their cannabis products exclusively from the legal regulated market, while just under 2% reported getting their products exclusively from the illicit market. Another 7.2% reported sourcing their cannabis from both types of access points.
The most commonly reported reason for choosing a legal source for cannabis was product safety (38%), followed by convenience at 16.9%, a desire to follow the law at just 12.9%, a belief in product quality at just 5.8%, and product selection or variety at 5.2%.
Another recent survey showed that household spending on legal cannabis in Canada has continued to increase while spending on illicit cannabis has decreased. Household expenditures on cannabis from the unlicensed sector were at a low of $465,000 in Q4 2023, down from about $1.2 million in Q4 2018.
A new study is questioning the accuracy of a method used by police to determine cannabis impairment.
Visual evidence of “eyelid tremors” is one of the processes used by Drug Recognition Experts (DRE) to supposedly confirm if a driver is impaired by cannabis use, including the RCMP.
“Eyelid tremor” is a term that refers to involuntary and intermittent spasms of the eyelid muscles and has often been associated with cannabis impairment. It’s identified under the Drug Evaluation and Classification Program of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
In Canada, cannabis impairment is often determined via visual inspection by Drug Recognition Experts trained in detecting impairment as part of a multi-step process that includes an examination of a person’s eyes.
The objectives of this study were to assess the accuracy and replicability of identifying eyelid tremors as an indicator of recent cannabis smoking using a blinded, controlled study design.
About 100 people were recruited to participate in the study and divided into three categories: daily, occasional, and no current cannabis use.
Participants then had their closed eyelids video recorded for 30 seconds by infrared videography goggles before and after smoking or vaping cannabis.
Three observers with experience in movements of the eye and medical toxicology then reviewed these videos to determine which individuals had consumed or were impaired by cannabis based on a grading system.
Researchers found that there was no significant association between recent cannabis use and the observers’ assessment that eyelid tremor was present. In fact, cannabis users were less likely to have eyelid tremors.
Because of this, the study says that the weak association between recent cannabis use and eyelid tremor does not support this method in identifying recent cannabis use.
The study concludes that additional research is needed to identify the presence of eyelid tremor more accurately. Furthermore, research should determine the relationship, if any, between cannabis dose and timeline in relation to last cannabis use to eyelid tremor and how, or if, it should be used for cannabis Drug Recognition Evaluator examinations.
A 2021 report from Quebec based on coroners’ and medical examiners’ report data from toxicological analyses found that when cannabis was present, 20 percent had a THC blood concentration between 0.5 and 1.9 ng/mL, 44% between 2.0 and 4.9 ng/mL, and 36 percent over 5 ng/mL. Canada’s prohibited blood drug concentration (BDC) level is between 2 ng and 5 ng THC per ml of blood.
A THC rate below 2 ng/ml does not necessarily indicate recent use, while a rate over 5 ng/ml is associated with impaired driving and recent use. In addition, a rate over 5 ng/ml increases the likelihood of an impairment-responsible crash. Polydrug use was found in 79% of cases.
Researchers at UBC’s faculty of medicine are launching a new, unique clinical trial to investigate the potential of cannabidiol (CBD) as a treatment for bipolar depression.
The new trial is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and approved by Health Canada. The goal of the research will be to investigate if CBD can help manage acute bipolar depression alongside primary courses of treatment.
The trial will enroll approximately 360 participants spanning multiple sites across Canada, including the UBC Mood Disorders Centre in Vancouver, BC, and sites in Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.
If proven effective, this has the potential to provide significant benefits to patients by helping effectively managing their symptoms and improving their overall quality of life
Dr. Lakshmi Yatham, UBC Department of Psychiatry
“Bipolar disorder is a complex condition, with depression often posing the greatest burden for patients,” says Dr. Lakshmi Yatham, professor and head of UBC’s Department of Psychiatry and the study’s principal investigator. “This trial marks a significant step forward in exploring innovative, much-needed treatments for bipolar disorder.”
Bipolar disorder is a chronic mental health condition characterized by extreme changes in mood that cycle through periods of intense highs (mania) and lows (depression). Depressive episodes present a considerable challenge for people living with the condition and are associated with feelings of sadness and hopelessness, loss of interest in activities, trouble sleeping, and increased risk of suicide. Despite available treatments, a persistent unmet need exists for more effective and well-tolerated therapies.
The new trial will explore whether CBD can help manage acute bipolar depression alongside primary courses of treatment.
No large clinical studies have been conducted to assess the safety and efficacy of CBD in treating bipolar depression.
In a small pilot study published last year, UBC researchers found that CBD did not show significantly higher adverse effects than placebo. Despite this, an exploratory analysis also suggested that cannabidiol should be further studied in bipolar depression in higher doses of at least 300 mg/day and under research designs that could better control for high placebo response.
“Our pilot trial showed signals for efficacy of CBD which provided an impetus for this large trial,” says Dr. Yatham. “If proven effective, this has the potential to provide significant benefits to patients by helping effectively manage their symptoms and improving their overall quality of life.”
This new, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study will evaluate the safety, efficacy and tolerability of a CBD product (ProZ-001) manufactured and supplied by PBG Biopharma Inc.
The research team says they anticipate that the outcomes will provide valuable insights into the development of novel and improved therapeutic options for people living with bipolar disorder.
Saskatchewan Polytechnic has partnered with Saskatchewan-based cannabis nursery Mother Labs on a breeding program focussing on screening for mildew resistance.
The applied research project was first proposed by Mother Labs, who brought the idea to Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s BioScience Applied Research Centre (BARC). The Centre gives experts from private industry access to the polytechnic’s applied research expertise.
“Our partnership with Sask Polytech symbolizes a significant stride towards addressing a spectrum of challenges in the cannabis industry,” says Jordan Hannah, Director of Operations at Mother Labs.
Researchers use PCR-based molecular markers as a way to look for agronomic traits in cannabis plants.
Students from the BioScience Technology program extract DNA from tissue samples and use PCR-based markers (Polymerase chain reaction) to screen breeding lines for the presence or absence of specific genes.
“PCR tests, similar to the COVID PCR tests previously used for out-of-country travel, were employed by our students in the investigation of cannabis plants,” says research chair Blaine Chartrand. “Specifically, our students used PCR testing to detect plants that contained genes for resistance to powdery mildew and to determine their sex for breeding applications.”
“Collaborating with Mother Labs allowed students to gain insights into the cannabis sector through facility tours and firsthand learning experiences,” he adds.
The team accurately determined the sex of 40 different cannabis plants using PCR tests.
“As the cannabis industry continues to mature, it will be vital to develop excellent breeding programs and energy-efficient methods of propagation. Sask Polytech’s applied research will draw on techniques that are well established in the traditional agricultural space and adapt them for use in the cannabis industry to improve plant quality and performance,” said Dr. Susan Blum, Associate Vice-President of Applied Research and Innovation at Sask Polytech at the time.
This is not the only instance of such a project in Canada. Powdery Mildew is one of the most common diseases that cannabis growers often struggle with, especially in humid climates. Because of this, the industry in Canada and abroad is looking to identify and even patent genetics with resistance to the disease.
In 2020, more than $4.2 million in federal, provincial, and industry funding was announced to aid with research at the University of British Columbia (UBC) into enhanced cannabis cultivars, focusing on disease resistance for issues like powdery mildew.
Breeding is, of course, not limited to looking to address powdery mildew. In 2023, UBC’s Dr. Todesco also announced they were teaming up with a geneticist at Aurora to adapt cannabis for outdoor production.
Health Canada’s most recent summary of its annual survey of cannabis users shows an increasing number say they are purchasing products through the legal, regulated market (73%).
The percentage of respondents who use cannabis and reported daily, or almost daily, use has been stable since 2018 (~25%), including among youth (~20%).
There was, however, an increase in the number of people aged 16-19 who reported using cannabis at least once in the past 12 months, from 37% in 2022 to 43% in 2023. This number has fluctuated between those two percentages since legalization.
All other age groups reported a slight decrease in cannabis use from the previous year.
Past 12-month cannabis use for non-medical purposes, by sex and age group, 2018 to 2023
The annual Canadian Cannabis Survey (CCS), which Health Canada has been conducting and releasing since 2017, helps track trends among cannabis consumers before and after cannabis was legalized.
The new 2023 survey results are based on data collected from May 2 to July 20, 2023, from around 11,690 respondents aged 16 and older across all of Canada.
The survey also asked Canadians about their perception of how socially acceptable products like alcohol, tobacco, e-cigarettes, and cannabis are. All products showed an increasing social acceptance, with regularly drinking alcohol being seen as the most accepted at 75%, followed by eating or drinking cannabis (58%), vaping cannabis(55%—this combines two questions on vaping dried cannabis and liquid/solid cannabis extracts), and smoking cannabis (54%).
The number of Canadians who reported using cannabis with alcohol and/or together declined in 2023.
The perceived risk of using these products was highest for smoking and vaping nicotine, although both were down slightly from the previous year. This was followed by drinking alcohol, which saw the perceived risk increase significantly from previous years. The perceived risk of vaping cannabis also increased from the previous year, although less so than alcohol.
Those who perceived risk of smoking cannabis increased slightly from the previous year, a trend over the last few years, while the perceived risk of eating and drinking cannabis has continued to decline.
Around 26% of those Canadians surveyed aged 16 and older admitted to consuming cannabis for non-medical purposes in the past 12 months. This number has remained relatively steady since legalization, which was 22% in 2018 and 27% in 2022.
Of those Canadians who reported using cannabis, 57% reported using cannabis three days per month or less, while 15% reported daily cannabis use.
Fifteen percent reported getting their cannabis from a “social source” such as sharing with friends or family. Just 5% reported growing their own cannabis or having it specifically grown for them. Both of these sources have declined since legalization..
Only 3% of people reported using an illegal purchase source such as an illegal store, illegal website, or “dealer,” down from nearly 30% in 2018. A new data point captured in 2023 shows that only 2% reported getting their cannabis from a storefront in a First Nation community.
Men continue to be more likely than women to report using cannabis, while those who identify as bisexual (56%), another sexuality (54%), or lesbian or gay (48%) were more likely to report using cannabis compared to those who identified as heterosexual or straight (23%).
Frequency of cannabis use for non-medical purposes among those who have used cannabis in the past 12 months, 2018 to 2023
Dried flower continues to be the most commonly used cannabis product, although the figure continues to decline as other products become available. In 2023, 60% of cannabis users said they consumed dried flower, down from over 80% in 2018.
Edibles were the second most commonly consumed cannabis product in Canada in 2023 at 54%, up about 41% in 2018. Vape pens were the third most popular cannabis product, with about 34% of consumers choosing these products, up from about 18% in 2018 (respondents could choose more than one product).
Cannabis oils and capsules for oral use were the fourth most popular cannabis product in Canada, with 26% reporting using these products, up from about 18% in 2018.
Cannabis products usedamong those who had used cannabis in the past 12 months, by reason for use, 2023
Dried flower was the product most commonly used daily or near-daily, followed by vape pens, ingestible oils and capsules, concentrates, and topicals. Edibles and beverages were more widely consumed less than once a month.
Of those who smoked or vaped dried cannabis, the average amount used was just under 1 gram (down from 2018 and 2022).
Those who used edible cannabis consumed about 1.4 servings (up from 2018 and 2022).
The average amount of cannabis oil for oral use consumed was 2.3 millilitres (up from 2018 and 2022).
In 2023, consumers who used vape pens reported using an average of 10.3 puffs a day. Those who drank cannabis beverages daily reported having 1.2 drinks.
Only around 10% of Canadians who reported using cannabis in the past 12 months, and just 4% of all Canadians, said cannabis had been grown in their home in the same reporting period, down from 2020 and 2022.
About one-fifth of those who reported having cannabis grown in their home (21%) said it was grown by a person authorized by Health Canada to grow for medical purposes for themselves or for another person. The average number of plants was 3.4; people who reported more than 25 plants were not included in the averages to allow for comparability to previous years.
A new research article argues sales of cannabis, especially edibles, are likely to capture an increasing share of the market as consumer interest increases and stigmas decrease.
The study, published recently in the Journal of Cannabis Research, compares and contrasts opinions on cannabis, cannabis use, and legalization in the US and Canada.
Unsurprisingly, both countries showed high levels of support for legalization, with three-quarters of Canadians and Americans (78% and 75%) reporting that they agree/strongly agree with legalization for recreational (adult-use) purposes.
The report also says that usage rates among adults in both countries were similar as well, with 45% of Canadians and 42% of Americans confirming they consume cannabis. This number is higher than a recent report from Statistics Canada in 2022, which showed that 27% of people 16 years of age and older reported having used cannabis in the past 12 months, an increase from 25% in the previous reporting cycle.
This study was built around online surveys of those aged 19 and over, living in the USA or Canada for at least 12 months. In addition to their opinions on legalization, respondents were asked how they feel about being known for consuming cannabis, how often they consume cannabis, and for what purpose.
They were also asked questions specifically about cannabis edibles. While Americans were slightly more likely to report consuming cannabis edibles and beverages (24.5% and 28.5%), Canadians were more likely to report using cannabis oils or tinctures (22% and 8.7%).
Cannabis oils, capsules and tinctures, the active ingredient in most edibles, have been allowed for sale in Canada’s legal, regulated cannabis market since 2016 (medical only until 2018), while edibles and beverages were not allowed until 2019 and not widely available until 2020 or later. Cannabis edibles and beverages in Canada are also subject to a limit of 10mg THC per serving and per package, while many US markets allow a greater amount of THC per package.
Respondents were also asked if they intend to increase their purchases of edibles in the future and about their perceptions and concerns with edibles. Around 21% of American buyers reported they would increase purchases, compared to 13% of consumers in Canada.
Respondents were also asked about how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted their cannabis use, a subject covered by other recent surveys and studies, with 14% of Canadian and 16% of US cannabis users reporting they consumed more often between April 2020 and April 2021. Canadians were more likely (63%) to express concern about the perceived risks cannabis edibles can present to children compared to Americans (51%).
The researchers conclude that the market for dried flower will “stagnate and transition toward the edible market, as most health experts continue to discourage consumers from inhaling cannabis,” but argue there is a need for more education for the “canna curious” who may want to try these products but have various concerns.
A new research project looking at THC levels in different products on the Canadian market is once again highlighting the lack of reliably labelled dried cannabis flower.
The lead researcher involved in the project says this is a failure by Heath Canada to set and enforce reasonable variability limits on Cannabis Flower or pre-rolls, leading to a lack of credibility in the market domestically and internationally.
Rob O’Brien, CEO and CSO at Supra Research and Development, an analytical testing lab in Canada that includes cannabis testing in its repertoire, says he worked with seven other labs across Canada to sample an array of cannabis products and compile the results. O’Brien has shared similar results on the subject in the past.
The goals, says O’Brien, were to more effectively highlight the extent of the problem in Canada and prove that analytical testing labs can accurately test cannabis without much deviation between them.
While the issue of THC inflation is relatively well-known, one of the reasons some have suggested for a lack of enforcement of THC levels on dried flower is the level of deviation in results depending on the lab used. But what these results show, says O’Brien, is that different labs all testing the same or similar samples can still come up with results that are relatively close to each other.
Summary Dried Flower Results. Column one shows which labs tested the sample ID’d in column two. Column three shows the actual THC result. Column four shows the variation between labs that tested the sample. Column five shows the THC on the label. Column six shows the difference in THC levels measured in mg/g. Column seven shows the deviation between label claim and secondary testing by percent.
This is highlighted by the project’s findings, which showed not only the deviation between the posted THC levels on the label of a cannabis product but also the deviation in the results between those labs. Three to four labs would receive the same sample, and in most cases, their results came within the same range, showing that when these labs use the same methodology, they can arrive at relatively similar measurements.
“Clearly there have been suggestions that there are THC inflation problems in the Canadian and US marketplaces. And people have been trying to identify the source of that and fingers have been pointed in many directions, including the accuracy of labs in Canada,” says O’Brien.
“I think it’s undermining the whole industry in Canada and the US,” he adds. “I think it’s outrageous that these shenanigans are allowed to continue. Health Canada is partially responsible because they’re not enforcing reasonable limits. And this clearly shows that if they do set reasonable limits, Producers can be within 15% of label claim.”
Summary Pre-roll Results
How it worked
The research, conducted by eight analytical testing labs in Canada, tested 16 different brands of 3.5 g dried flower products available in several provincial markets, four different brands of pre-rolls (non-infused), and 15 different brands of infused pre-roll flower product.
Researchers used an allowable variance for the dried flower and pre-rolls of 25% and 15% for infused pre-rolls, similar to the allowable limit within federal cannabis regulations. Note: this means, for example, that a product labelled as having 30% THC could be over or under that number by 7.5 percentage points, or 23.5% THC or 37.5% THC.
More than half (nine) of the samples from the 3.5-gram dried flower SKUs were found to be more than 25% below the stated label claim, and two of those were more than 40% lower than the label claim.
Meanwhile, only one of the four brands of non-infused pre-rolls was outside the 25% allowable range, with one sample coming in just 2.1% lower than the label.
For the infused pre-rolls, only three samples were outside the 15% range, and none were outside the 25% range.
None of the dried flower or pre-roll samples were above the stated label claim, while two infused pre-rolls showed results slightly above the label claim.
Summary Infused Pre-roll Results
While some may point to the issue being devious labs, the resulting research paper, which O’Brien shared with StratCann, speculates the issue may have more to do with sample bias by producers who are selecting top colas or other high-THC flowers as their representative sample instead of sampling the finished product after it’s packaged.
The fact that there was greater THC inflation and label inconsistency in the dried flower samples from the research project highlights this issue more, O’Brien says. Since pre-rolls are more likely to be homogenized as part of the manufacturing process, there is less variation between the label claim and the actual products.
The issue is even more pronounced with infused pre-rolls, which are considered an extract under federal regulations and, therefore, subject to a strict 15% deviation allowance.
While a cannabis flower may have a certain level of THC at harvest or after drying and curing, the process of processing and packaging that flower results in a loss of Trichomes that significantly reduce the THC content, which is why he says these products should be tested after packaging rather than before.
“While we cannot pinpoint the origin of the discrepancies, we can speculate that the label claims >30% higher than the actual Total THC concentration in the finished product may be using artificially high COA’s from a harvest rather than testing products after being handled and processed into the finished form,” says the paper. “Active cannabinoids are compartmentalized in fragile trichome structures that can easily be dislodged during mechanical processing. Non-processed flowers may have a higher amount of cannabinoids than processed flowers.”
Still, the paper doesn’t entirely discount the possibility that some labs are also inflating numbers.
“Furthermore, there is also the probability that some labs are artificially generating high COA’s or that the producers are sending samples that are doctored. However, these possibilities can not be determined from this type of study.”
Three or four packages of each brand were obtained from cannabis stores in several provinces. These were then sent to a central lab, sorted, and randomly sent to the other labs involved in the study.
Although they’re not releasing the names of the specific brands they tested because they don’t want to harm any brand, O’Brien says the full data set will be shared with Health Canada and provincial cannabis distributors. The hope is that when producers with accurate label claims are contacted, they will permit the publication of their name to create positive news stories about this issue.
More information about these results, including all participating labs, is expected to be released at a future date.
Health Canada’s Drug Analysis Service (DAS) identified 29 new psychoactive substances in 2022 within the country, including four cannabinoids.
The findings also identified eight hallucinogens, seven sedatives/hypnotics, five stimulants, two dissociatives, two opioids, and one other substance.
DAS operates several laboratories that analyze suspected illicit drugs seized by Canadian law enforcement agencies and samples submitted by public health partners. Health Canada warns that synthetic cannabinoids have been associated with adverse effects, including psychosis, hallucinations, and even fatalities.
The first three of these synthetic cannabinoids exhibit effects that are similar to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and have the potential to be more potent than THC. The fourth, BZO-4en-POXIZID, was first developed in 2008 with the goal of targeting specific (non-psychoactive) therapeutic effects as a treatment for neuropathic pain.
The first NPS identifications in 2022 of these cannabinoids were in Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and Quebec.
The 4-fluoro-MDMB-BICA was first identified in Nanaimo, BC, in October 2022, along with ADB-BUTINACA.
ADB-BUTINACA was first found in Regina, SK, in July, co-occurring with Caffeine, Eutylone (ß-keto-Ethylbenzodioxolylbutanamine), and Xylazine.
ADB-FUBIATA was detected in Vancouver, BC, in July and was identified with α-PiHP (α-Pyrrolidinoisohexanophenone), Caffeine, Cocaine, Diphenhydramine, Etodesnitazene, Fentanyl, and Metonitazene.
BZO-4en-POXIZID was first identified in Lavaltrie, QC, in November, co-occurring with Caffeine, Fentanyl, Methamphetamine, and Xylazine.
DAS data is solely based on samples submitted to Health Canada laboratories.
Health Canada defines a new psychoactive substance (NPS) as a substance that has the potential to induce psychoactive effects, and has been identified in Canada for the first time in samples submitted to DAS for analysis by law enforcement agencies and public health partners.
While some medical professionals associate cannabis use with causing negative mental health and behavioural outcomes, this study found that cannabis users have a greater understanding of the emotions of others and that parts of the brain associated with empathy are stronger among those who use cannabis.
These findings, say the researchers, help to highlight positive effects of cannabis on interpersonal relationships and its potential therapeutic applications.
“We believe that the differences shown by regular cannabis users in the emotional comprehension scores and their brain functional connectivity, could be related to the use of cannabis. However, we cannot discard that such differences were present before the users started their use of cannabis.”
The study involved a group of 85 regular cannabis users alongside a control group of 51 non-users. The groups excluded those with neurological disorders, use of psychopharmaceuticals, depression, and MRI contraindications.
Researchers “applied the Cognitive and Affective Empathy Test (TECA, in Spanish), developed by López-Pérez and Pinto, which analyzes the empathic ability of the subject, assessing both cognitive and affective empathy.” MRI scans were also used to assess brain activity in areas associated with empathy.
The psychometric tests showed that cannabis users scored higher in emotional comprehension than non-users. They caution, however, that it’s possible the cannabis users they observed in the research were more empathetic prior to consuming cannabis.
The study also noted that the quality of cannabis consumed in Mexico is often around 2%–10% THC on the illegal market, much lower than cannabis consumed in legal markets in the US or Canada. Researchers caution this could lead to different results when using higher-potency cannabis.
The differences in THC concentrations between US and Mexican cannabis could have a differential impact on functional brain outcomes between the present study and those reporting emotional dysfunctions in cannabis users.
The results of the MRI tests indicated that “regular cannabis users showed greater connectivity between the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the pre-posterior central gyrus (pr-pCG). In the within empathy network analysis, the users showed greater connectivity between the left anterior insula (lAi) and the ACC, and greater network strength when compared to controls (t = 2.27, p = .02).”
The authors note that “the ACC is a region that is prone to the effects of cannabis consumption and is also greatly involved in empathy, which is a multi-component process that can be influenced in different ways. In the present study, regular cannabis users scored higher on emotional comprehension when compared to non-users.”
“We believe that the differences shown by regular cannabis users in the emotional comprehension scores and their brain functional connectivity, could be related to the use of cannabis. However, we cannot discard that such differences were present before the users started their use of cannabis.”
They continue, saying that “this difference is consistent with those reported by Vigil et al., where cannabis users report a higher ability to detect others’ feelings compared to non-users. Additionally, previous research has shown that these types of psychometric results correspond with the subjective experience and behaviours of cannabis users related to a greater understanding of other emotions, less verbal hostility, enhanced prosociality and empathic predisposition to others’ situations.”
In closing, they hypothesize that they “believe that these results contribute to open a pathway to study further the clinical applications of the positive effect that cannabis or cannabis components could have in effect and social interactions.”
A study published recently in the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) journal Omega suggests that terpenes are only part of the picture when determining what compounds are responsible for the aroma of cannabis.
The study argues that different samples of cannabis that contain similar terpenes can smell wildly varied depending on the presence or absence of other nonterpenoid volatile compounds. The researchers also note that “cannabis labelling or certificates of analysis (COAs) that contain only terpene information thus may mislead consumers or producers into believing that these compounds are the sole source of a given product aroma.”
graphic via ACS Omega
The researchers cite another recent study “that found that cannabis grown across the United States falls into three major classes [based on terpene constituents]: terpinolene/ß-myrcene, D-(+)-limonene/ß-caryophyllene, or ß-myrcene/pinene dominant varieties.” They proceed to note that, problematically, “this study showed varieties with very different aroma characteristics are often found in the same cluster, which is contrary to the paradigm that these dominant terpenes dictate their aromatic character.”
They go on to provide some examples of this. “For instance, Dogwalker OG, which possesses a skunky and woody aroma, was found in the same D-(+)-limonene/ß-caryophyllene cluster as Tropicana Cookies, which possesses an intense citrus and tropical aroma. Purple Punch, which possesses a sweet, grape-like scent, was also found in this cluster. This discrepancy suggests that while these classifications may be helpful for chemotaxonomic purposes, they lack the chemical information necessary to differentiate these varieties from an aroma perspective,” concluding simply that “the importance of terpenes appears to be overstated.”
For the purposes of this study, the research team analyzed “the volatile chemical profiles of 31 cannabis ice hash rosin extracts with a wide aromatic diversity using 2-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry and flame ionization detection.” The results indicated “a myriad of nonterpenoid compounds that strongly influence the unique aromatic properties of cannabis.”
Interestingly, their findings show that while the majority of these nonterpenoid compounds occur in much smaller quantities than dominant terpenes, they punch way above their weight in terms of their effect on the plant’s aroma.
graphic via ACS Omega
In particular, they identified “a new class of tropical volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) that are major contributors to certain varieties with a strong citrus or tropical fruit aroma, while skatole (3-methylindole), a highly pungent compound, was identified as a key aroma compound in savory/chemical varieties.”
Ice hash rosin was used in this study because it has less plant tissue by weight than cannabis flower and further concentrates the molecules in question.
The rosin was then given to a sensory panel for analysis, with participants asked to group the samples into three categories: exotic fruity, prototypical, or exotic savory. These data provided researchers “with the framework to relate the chemical composition of each variety to their aromatic properties.” These results were then compared with chemical analysis to determine which compounds correlated with which perceived aromas.
Researchers “discovered that there exists [a] unique class of VSCs that produce tropical nuances–sulfur containing compounds that produce more citrus, fruity, sulfuric aromas–that includes 3-mercaptohexanol (3MH), 3-mercaptohexyl acetate (3MHA), and 3-mercaptohexyl butyrate (3MHB). These compounds have extremely potent aromas, comparable in strength to prenylthiol and prenylthioacetate. All three are found in a multitude of tropical fruits such as passionfruit and grapefruit. 3MH and 3MHA are also found in certain grapes and hops, which can translate to their presence in both wine and beer.”
In conclusion, the authors write that their results “yield a more complete understanding of the unique aromas that cannabis produces and help establish these nonterpenoid compounds as an important part of the phytochemistry of cannabis.”
And what’s more, “the discovery that terpenes have less influence on the differentiating characteristics of the aroma of cannabis than traditionally thought may have important ramifications for the legal cannabis industry related to product labelling and marketing, laboratory testing, and quality indicators for end consumers and producers alike.”
* The study cited above was conducted by a group of researchers associated with Abstrax Tech, an American company that specializes in the manufacture and sale of aromatic compounds from cannabis and other plants.
Published in BMJ Open in June, the study was led by Dr. Katherine Babyn at U of A’s Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
The purpose of this particular study was not to investigate the efficacy of cannabis as a treatment for menopause symptoms, but rather to “characterise the use patterns and perceptions of cannabis specifically for menopause in a population of women aged 35 and over.”
The study, which recruited people over the age of 35 who identify as women and reside in Alberta from various social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, notes that “a recent systematic review identified a lack of research on the effect of cannabis on menopausal symptoms. The increasing anecdotal use of cannabis for menopause symptoms demands more attention,” particularly in the Canadian context where cannabis has now been legal for several years.
The purpose of this particular study was not to investigate the efficacy of cannabis as a treatment for menopause symptoms, but rather to “characterise the use patterns and perceptions of cannabis specifically for menopause in a population of women aged 35 and over.” The study was conducted using a web-based survey over two months, from October to December 2020.
The survey was comprised of 50 questions informed by existing published literature and Canadian cannabis surveys. Data collected included “demographics, medical history, self-reported changes to menstrual cycle and menopause symptoms, cannabis use,” and “respondents were asked about their perspectives related to cannabis, including use for menopause.”
The term ‘cannabis’ was used as a catch-all that included various forms, such as edibles, extracts, etc., that could contain any combination of cannabinoids, and the questions ranged from frequency and form of consumption to reasons for use and methods of access.
Responses were analyzed from 1,485 women, 34 percent of whom reported currently using cannabis, while 66 percent reported ever having used it. The study notes that current cannabis users were more likely to report experiencing discomfort associated with menopause.
“Majority of respondents identified as white (92.9 percent), had postsecondary education or higher (88.0 percent), and had at least a moderate level of health literacy (95.4 percent). Overall, 35.2 percent of women were in postmenopause and 32.7 percent in perimenopause. Most frequently reported symptoms were difficulty with sleep (65.3 percent), concentration (49.2 percent) and anxiety (48.8 percent).”
Many respondents, 73.5 percent, who used cannabis reported that it was helpful for their menopause symptoms. The most common forms of cannabis used were edibles and oils, followed by smoking.
While women who reported current cannabis use were more likely to identify as medical users, women who only reported past use were more likely to identify as recreational users.
The study concludes that while many women are using cannabis to treat discomfort associated with menopause, “further research is required to investigate the efficacy and safety of cannabis on menopause symptoms and foster the development of clinical resources for women to use in making informed decisions around cannabis for medical purposes.”
The BC government is providing funding to support the creation of a tool to monitor THC and CBD in commercial cannabis.
To the tune of $77,411, the funding comes from the provincial government’s BC Knowledge Development Fund (BCKDF), part of $2.5 million allocated to support infrastructure for 16 research projects at five universities in BC.
Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops is the recipient of the grant related to cannabis research for Capillary Electrophoresis for Characterization of Pharmacologically Relevant Compounds in the Cannabinoid Industry, led by researcher Kingsley Donkor.
StratCann spoke with Donkor about the project, which he says is about providing another tool for the industry to test levels of cannabinoids and terpenes. While the industry generally uses High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), Donkor says capillary electrophoresis offers some benefits, such as a high level of accuracy with smaller sample sizes than HPLC.
A recent announcement from the BC government explains the project will provide an analytical tool that regulatory agencies and cannabis companies can use to monitor the content constituents “in commercial and advanced cannabis formulations” using specialized Capillary Electrophoresis methods.
Shannon Wagner, Vice President of Research at Thompson Rivers University, says the goal of the research is to help create a better-regulated cannabis industry.
“Thompson Rivers University is proud to lead the way in cannabis research thanks to the support of provincial government funding,” says Wagner. “Our groundbreaking Capillary Electrophoresis project promises safer and more responsible cannabis use in B.C. by providing regulatory agencies and companies with precise tools to monitor cannabinoid content. Together, we’re shaping a safer and more informed cannabis industry.”
Federal and provincial governments have been looking more into the issue of cannabis testing, especially with concerns about the accuracy of product labels in the legal and illegal markets.
Several provinces have released testing results of illicit products shared via law enforcement actions, and more recently, provincial governments have begun looking at the THC testing of legal, off-the-shelf products.
In 2022, Ontario shared a study that showed illicit edibles have significantly less THC than advertised and high levels of pesticides. New Brunswick and British Columbia have also released similar testing results from unregulated products.
A restaurant in Edmonton is now serving cannabis-infused food and drink on an invitation-only basis through a partnership with a local licensed cannabis producer.
CBD CBN is the name of a new business offering infused products, utilizing a Health Canada research licence held by Token Naturals, a licensed cannabis producer located in Edmonton.
Co-owner of CBD CBN (Catering By Day, Catering By Night), Stacey Mison, says it’s a small restaurant space with room for about 20 guests to sit at a long family-style table or the bar. Their menu is created based on input from their guests, focusing on the different flavours of cannabis more than any intoxicating effect.
“We get to know who our guests are—their tolerance levels, if they’ve been consuming a while or if they’ve never consumed at all—and just figuring out how to usher them through an experience that they’re going to enjoy,” she explains to StratCann.
“A lot of what we’re doing is looking at it more from a flavour perspective of the different cannabis plants and terpene profiles they offer. So looking at it as a culinary ingredient, not just something that gets you stoned.”
Guests to the restaurant need to sign a waiver before enjoying any of the dishes at CBD CBN. They can also complete a questionnaire afterward about their experience, a process similar to other research licence holders in Canada.
“It allows for education,” Mison told City News recently. “It allows for conversations. It allows a place for people to gather and have the conversations that haven’t been happening so we can keep moving forward and show the rest of the world, as more of the world becomes legal, that this is what we can be doing and this is the way forward.”
Keenan Pascal, CEO of Token Naturals, says he and his team were first approached by Stacey and her partner James Mulholland earlier this year, an opportunity Pascal was eager to participate in.
“We were approached by Stacey and James in June of this year. We had attended some of their previous infused dinners and were connected through the general industry. When the opportunity arose to expand the cannabis landscape in our hometown with capable partners, we jumped on it.”
Pascal explains that Token first received their research licence for cannabis in late 2021. Then, at the end of August, their licence amendment was approved, expanding their research licence area into the restaurant space, which allows the company to possess cannabis for the purpose of research and to transport, send, or deliver cannabis between the facility and the restaurant.
“As a manufacturer of drinks and edibles and more, we’re specifically looking at research on palatability and taste, along with qualitative information on the experience of ingesting cannabis-infused beverages and food,” he tells StratCann.
“This is under the larger umbrella of human sensory analysis. The pairing of culinary and alcohol-free beverages aligns perfectly with Token’s lines of cannabis products and with the mocktails of our sister company, Token Bitters. We’re also looking at this as less formalized research around cannabis consumption venues and how they might add to the larger landscape of Edmonton.”
Also, Tether’s Holiday Showcase takes place at Millworks Creative Studios in Dundas, ON, on November 1.
In other cannabis news this past week…
Several major media outlets also covered the What We Heard Report, including the Canadian Press, which ran a story on the five-year anniversary of legalization, with a focus on the winding down of the stock market bubble, with comments from Abi Roach, Vivien Azer, a managing director and senior research analyst at TD Cowen, and Canopy CEO David Klein.
CTV carried a similar story on the persistence of stigma with comments from Kate Grimmell from Greentown Cannabis in Ontario.
The Canadian Medical Association Journal also released a report on the five-year anniversary of cannabis legalization. The key takeaways are that cannabis use and its associated harms have remained steady or slightly increased (but more data is required), and there have been substantial reductions in criminal arrests and charges related to cannabis use.
Researchers from the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières (UQTR) are launching a survey with the goal of “a better portrait of cannabis consumption among parents” of children under 12 years old. This would be one of the first studies of its kind to be carried out in Quebec.
A would-be Whitehorse cannabis shop has again lost its bid to get a retail licence—this time, in front of the courts. Community Cannabis Inc. applied for the licence last year after signing a lease and beginning renovations at a space on Second Avenue in downtown Whitehorse. The board held a public hearing on the application before denying it in February.
Some residents in Drummondville, Quebec, have launched a petition complaining about what they say is the smell of cannabis from nearby indoor and outdoor producer Canna-Culture.
Radio Canada ran a story on Quebec producer Sumo, whose first batch of products will be available in the SQDC in November.
Joi Botanicals and Freedom Cannabisannounced that Freedom will be taking on processing and distribution for Joi.
Greenway Greenhouse Cannabis Corporation announced it was engaging cannabis distributor Green Hedge to act as an outside sales force, providing coverage to licensed cannabis retailers and provincial wholesalers across Canada.
Eurofins CDMO Alphora Inc. announced that it had received its Health Canada Cannabis Drug License for its Oakville, Ontario operations in September 2023. This complements the Institutional Research License obtained through Health Canada in June 2021 for its Mississauga development site, and a Standard Processing License obtained for the Oakville manufacturing operation in May 2022.
The Laval Police Department in Quebec carried out three searches and three arrests on October 3 in connection with the production, processing, distribution and sale of cannabis, seizing 1,453 plants as well as dried cannabis.
Researchers in Canada and the US are trying to teach your smartphone to know when you’re high.
A new study recently shared online sought to see if artificial intelligence could be used to monitor cannabis intoxication in a more immediate way than other impairment-testing methods.
Researchers collected data from 33 people’s personal smartphone sensors and a Fitbit to monitor their heart rate, step counts, and sleep quality for up to thirty days, collecting information on their cannabis use (if at all), as well as other aspects of their mood, location, and activities.
About one quarter (24 percent) of participants reported using cannabis daily, 9 percent reported use 5-6 times per week, and one third (66.7 percent) reported use 2-4 times per week.
By having the participants self-report their cannabis use, they hoped to correlate feedback from the Fitbit and smartphone with cannabis use. Sensors on the participants’ phones also provided information on their “micromovements,” such as how they held their phones, in order to measure their stability and coordination.
Since smoking cannabis has been shown to cause an increase in resting heart rate, researchers hope to better distinguish between someone being intoxicated vs simply having THC in their system, and potentially being able to warn someone they are too impaired to drive, for example.
The app collected data from the participants’ smartphones, which ran continuously in the background collecting information about their actions and behaviour, including conversations and background audio and lighting. Such features were only extracted from time intervals based on reported consumption to gain insight into the social setting of consumption.
The Fitbit was used to collect information on heart rate, sleep, and steps.
The app also allowed participants to enter reports of their cannabis use 15 minutes prior to smoking or vaping, and then later rate how high they feel on a scale of 1-10. They were also asked about how much they consumed and using what method, and to report when they then no longer felt high.
One of the goals of the study was simply to understand if such data collection is a viable way to measure cannabis use and intoxication. Although researchers acknowledge numerous challenges ensuring the user-reported data on cannabis use like the degree and length of high, they conclude the approach can be beneficial in “real world” settings.
Moving forward, they hope to refine their approach by improving the smartphone and Fitbit algorithms and collecting more complete data from larger sample sizes.
The number of Canadians who reported ever smoking or vaping cannabis did not increase from 2021 to 2022, according to new figures from the federal government.
The figures are part of new survey results released by Health Canada’s Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey (CTNS) 2022. The survey measures the prevalence of cigarette smoking, vaping, cannabis, and alcohol use among Canadians aged 15 years and older and is conducted by Statistics Canada on behalf of Health Canada. The data this year also includes figures on cannabis edibles.
The results are based on responses to an electronic questionnaire or a telephone follow-up interview from 12,133 respondents across all 10 provinces, which represents a weighted total of 32 million Canadian residents aged 15 years and older.
While about 40 percent of Canadians aged 15 and older reported ever smoking cannabis in 2022, only around 10 percent reported doing so in the past 30 days. Just over 12 percent reported ever vaping cannabis, while those who reported vaping cannabis in the past 30 days were about five percent. All of these figures are similar to those reported in 2021.
About six percent of Canadians aged 15 and older reported consuming cannabis edibles in the past thirty days.
Just over three percent of Canadians aged 15 and up reported daily smoking of cannabis in 2022, down from four percent in 2021. One percent of Canadians over the age of 14 reported vaping cannabis on a daily basis, unchanged from the previous year. Fewer than 1 percent of this same group reported consuming cannabis edibles on a daily basis.
Demographics
Those Canadians with less than a high school education were less likely to report using cannabis in the past 30 days (including those still in school), while those with secondary education but no post-secondary education were the most likely to consume in any of the three reported forms.
Those who identified as visible minorities reported lower levels of smoking, vaping, or eating cannabis in the past 30 days, but the reported use of vaping and smoking cannabis was higher among those Canadians who identify as Indigenous than those who did not. Consumption of edibles was not higher amongst those identifying as Indigenous.
Those Canadians aged 15 and up who identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or another sexual orientation that is not heterosexual (LGB+) were more likely to report smoking, vaping, and consumption of cannabis edibles in the past 30 days.
In general, Canadians over the age of 14 years who reported using cannabis were more likely to be those who reported their “general health” and “mental health” as “fair” or “poor” compared to those who rated it as excellent, very good, or good.
Those Canadians with a disability were also more likely to report cannabis use than those that did not report a disability.
The BC government should take lessons from one of the province’s only indoor cannabis consumption spaces, says a new research paper.
An indoor consumption lounge inside one of Canada’s oldest compassion clubs offered members a chance to consume cannabis in a safe space, with the club itself serving as an example of a community-based model of cultivation, distribution, and consumption, says the study.
The study was recently posted in the peer-reviewed journal, Contemporary Drug Problems, which publishes research on alcohol and other psychoactive drugs, licit and illicit. The authors present a case study of the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club (VCBC) and its consumption space, affectionately called “The Box”.
The Box was a small room inside the VCBC’s former location that was used as a cannabis consumption space by many of the club’s members. The Box closed in February 2023 when the VCBC was forced to move locations due to enforcement from the province, but the research paper argues it can serve as an example for the province as it continues to look at cannabis consumption spaces.
With research beginning in 2021, The Box was at the time closed due to pandemic-related restrictions, but information was collected through a survey sent out to members. The survey was open between January and March 2022 and was completed by 104 respondents. Although the club says they have 8,000 members, the number of current, active members is not provided.
Survey results showed members used The Box for an array of reasons, from socializing to learning more about cannabis. Respondents reported using The Box as often as several times a day to one or two times a month. Many reported using the space because of a lack of space to consume at home, with smoking being the most common mode of consumption.
The BC government can learn from this model, concludes the research paper, especially given that the government is currently looking at rules for consumption spaces. Although those potential rules will specifically exclude indoor smoking and vaping, the usefulness of these spaces for those using cannabis for therapeutic purposes needs to be taken into account, it says.
A cannabis nursery in New Brunswick and another in Ontario are teaming up to bring “seedless” cannabis cultivars to the Maritime provinces.
Hidden Harvest Inc., the only licensed cannabis nursery in New Brunswick, is bringing the seedless “triploid” cannabis cultivars to markets in Eastern Canada that were developed at the University of Guelph by researchers at Remix Genetics in Dundas, Ontario.
While most cannabis cultivars, or “strains,” have two sets of matching chromosomes, known as “diploid” or 2n, Remix Genetics says they have developed special polyploid cultivars with more than two sets of matching chromosomes. These cannabis strains are referred to as 3n, 4n, etc., depending on the number of matching chromosomes.
Remix maintains that these polyploid varieties can increase yield and finish faster, and can also create “seedless” strains that are not likely to produce seeds, saving growers headaches from lower yields.
Both companies say the first commercial offerings of this new product will be introduced to the market for purchase in early 2024.
“Innovation plays a crucial role in how Hidden Harvest delivers value to professional and at-home cannabis cultivators,” says Rod Wilson, CEO. “Our collaboration with Remix is an example and result of our continuous search for innovations that aid cannabis cultivators in achieving their harvest objectives.”
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommended that cannabis be moved from a Schedule I to a Schedule III listing. While the decision is with the US DEA, many are hopeful it will come to fruition, although the DEA rejected a call to do so in 2016. The recommendation from HHS came at the request of Biden to look into the issue (archived link to WaPo article).
The greenhouse in Niagara-on-the-Lake that Tweed once occupied appears to have been sold, reports Thorold Today. Canopy closed the location in 2021, and it had previously been listed online for $32 million.
An online website that lists property transfers shows the greenhouse sold for $21,800,000 in May to a company that grows mushrooms, but neither the realtor nor Canopy Growth responded to calls or emails from local media to confirm.
MJBiz shared a report that says cannabis exports from Canada increased in the 2022-23 fiscal year, with $160 million shipped overseas—a 50 percent increase compared to 2021-22’s $107 million.
On that note, Decibel Cannabis announced that it had entered into a supply agreement to provide dried medical cannabis flower to 4C LABS, a healthcare, technology, and pharmaceutical company in the United Kingdom and Channel Islands. The three-year agreement is expected to see its first shipment by year’s end, with minimum purchase commitments and exclusivity over certain genetics and the QWEST brand in the UK.
Entourage Health announced its financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023. The Company reported second quarter total revenue of $13.37 million, and net revenue of $10.17 million and a loss of $9.6 million. Entourage offers six cannabis brands on its medical platform: Color Cannabis, Saturday, Starseed, Syndicate, Royal City, and Mary’s Medicinals.
MTL Cannabis Corp. also posted a net revenue of $12,763,787 and gross profit of $3,274,781 for their Q1 2024 results.
MTL is the parent company of Montréal Medical Cannabis Inc., an LP in Quebec, Abba Medix Corp., an LP in Ontario, IsoCanMed Inc., an LP in Québec, and Canada House Clinics Inc., with clinics across Canada that work directly with primary care teams to provide specialized cannabinoid therapy services to patients.
Research and other International Cannabis News
MediPharm Labs’ subsidiary Harvest Medicine published a study in the American Journal of Endocannabinoid Medicine on medical cannabis’ impacts on anxiety and depression outcomes in fibromyalgia patients, in which 75 percent of patients saw a significant decrease in their self-reported illness severity. The study also reported reductions in depression and anxiety scores. Details on the study can be viewed on the American Journal of Endocannabinoids Website.
“We are delighted to announce that our partnership with Miracle Valley has cleared UK customs and marks the launch of our first own-branded strains of Canadian THC-dominant cannabis to the UK market,” said Mamedica CEO and founder Jon Robson in a press release.
Researchers at the University of Auckland in New Zealand say they have found a sustainable solution to help tackle the medicinal cannabis industry’s waste problem. In collaboration with medical cannabis producerGreenlab and support from the New Zealand government, the researchers are developing processes that will help protect the environment by transforming cannabis waste into valuable resources such as biofertilizer.
Greenlab sells white label cannabis products by Canada’s Valens Company and Mile High Labs UK, and also sells products in Australia and lists Valens and Canadian-based MediPharm Labs as “Extraction Affiliates” on their website. The company also signed an R&D agreement in 2021 with a Canadian cannabis company Purple Farm Genetics to develop unique cultivars through breeding.
Illicit cannabis in Canada is far more likely to contain high levels of pesticides compared to its legal counterparts, found a newly released study.
Researchers at Health Canada’s pesticide lab with the Regulatory Operations and Enforcement Branch conducted a study that took samples of dried cannabis flower from the legal and illegal markets, analyzing them for pesticide residue.
The results found only a six percent positivity rate for very low levels of two unauthorized pesticides, myclobutanil and dichlobenil (a fungicide and herbicide, respectively) out of 36 samples, compared to a 18 percent positivity rate prior to 2019.
Over 18 percent of licensed cannabis products contained unregistered pesticides prior to the 2019 mandatory cannabis, with a sample positivity rate of 18 percent, testing of 96 pesticide active ingredients, with myclobutanil, bifenazate, boscalid, and fludioxonil pesticides most commonly present.
Researchers also tested 24 samples of illicit cannabis which had a 92 percent positivity rate for pesticides with 23 unique pesticide active ingredients found at a high sample frequency rate 8 to 17 times.
The illicit cannabis contained, on average 3.7 different pesticides per sample, and 87 percent of positive samples contained more than one pesticide. One sample of illicit cannabis contained nine different pesticide-active ingredients.
The pesticide concentrations quantified varied greatly, with chlorpyrifos, imidacloprid, and myclobutanil measured at 30, 60, and 70 μg/g, over three orders of magnitude higher than the method’s lowest calibrated level (LCL) of 0.01 μg/g. The two pesticides found on legal cannabis were only found at the lowest possible detection limit of 0.01 μg/g.
While the results show high levels of pesticides on illicit cannabis products, the goal of the study was to better understand the presence of unauthorized pesticides on legal cannabis products, and to streamline and expand the existing cannabis inflorescence method. This was following Health Canada’s implementation of mandatory cannabis testing for pesticides in 2019. This was implemented after some licensed producers were found to be using products like myclobutanil and pyrethrins beginning in 2016.
While these pesticides were not authorized for use on cannabis in Canada, Health Canada did not require testing for these products until 2019.
Health Canada also maintains a list of authorized pesticides for use on cannabis. There are currently 57 authorized pest control products for use on cannabis in Canada. All products designed to manage, destroy, attract or repel pests that are used, sold or imported into Canada are regulated by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), the branch of Health Canada responsible for administering the PCPA on behalf of the Minister of Health.
To better understand how widespread pesticide use currently is in cannabis production, researchers at Health Canada validated a single method using a combination of gas chromatography—triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC–MS/MS) and liquid chromatography—triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) for the simultaneous quantification of 327 pesticide active ingredients in cannabis inflorescence.
This approach, says the research paper, goes beyond the 96 pesticide active ingredients mandatory testing.
The 36 samples of licensed cannabis products were purchased in 2021 from the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) from licence holders located in all five Canadian regions (British Columbia, Prairies, Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic).
The 24 samples of illicit cannabis were acquired from seizures by law enforcement officers across the country and submitted to Health Canada for laboratory testing in 2021.
BC, Ontario, and New Brunswick have also released reports in the last few years showing contaminant testing on dried cannabis and cannabis vapes seized from illicit retailers.
The University of British Columbia Vancouver campus is launching a new Biology of Cannabis course this year, starting in January 2024.
The three-credit course will serve as an entry point for students to better understand the “biological aspects of cannabis, including structure and function, photosynthesis, plant growth, specialized metabolites, neuroscience and the human endocannabinoid system, and applications for human use in medicine, consumer products and textiles.”
Taught by science education specialist Dr. Christine Goedhart, the course currently has a waitlist with 30 students already registered.
“Adult use of cannabis became legal in Canada in 2018,” notes Goedhart. “Since then, cannabis has become more socially acceptable and increasingly integrated into mainstream cultural, social, health and economic institutions. As such, students will likely be coming into contact with cannabis at some point and will need to make informed decisions about how they choose to engage with it.”
The University of British Columbia (UBC) has a rich history of working with cannabis.
“For more than 40 years, everything that we thought about cannabis cells was inaccurate because it was based on dated electron microscopy,” says Livingston’s co-author, Dr. Lacey Samuels, a plant cell biologist at UBC. “This work defines how cannabis cells make their product. It’s a paradigm shift after many years, producing a new view of cannabinoid production. This work has been challenging, partly the result of legal prohibition, and also due to the fact that no protocol for the genetic transformation (engineering) of cannabis has been published.”
Another study published in 2022, led by Davi de Ferreyro Monticelli, a doctoral student in UBC’s Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, looked at the specifics behind the aromas associated with cannabis that arise from terpenes and volatile organic compounds. In a 2019 study published in The Plant Journal, UBC researchers took a closer look at glandular trichomes and their cannabinoid and terpene production.
US States that have legalized medical cannabis see a significant decrease in health insurance premiums compared to states that keep it illegal. Legalizing cannabis nationwide could save Americans more than $16 billion in health insurance costs.
A new research paper in the US that looked at health insurance premiums in various states found that individual market health insurance premiums decreased after the implementation of medical cannabis laws.
Following the legalization of cannabis for medical purposes, these states saw a small reduction in premiums in the first five years, followed by a reduction in year six of about $500. The biggest effects were not immediate.
“We find a statistically significant decrease in health insurance premiums starting in year seven post-MCLs [medical cannabis laws], and this downward trend is persistent for following years.”
Researchers found “statistically significant” decreases in health insurance premiums starting seven years after medical cannabis became legal in a particular state, with the downward trend continuing in the following years.
In the seventh, eighth, and ninth year following the implementation of a legal medical cannabis market, researchers found a reduction of health premiums of about US$1,500-$1,700 per year.
The paper’s authors speculate that the savings increase over time as more people begin using cannabis for medical purposes, and any shifts from more conventional medications to cannabis may happen over time with a healthcare provider.
Due to how medical insurance in the US operates, by collecting premiums from all enrollees and paying expenses for the subset of enrollees who need medical treatment, researchers also note that these lower premiums are enjoyed not just by medical cannabis users but by all in states with legal medical cannabis access. In other words, if the costs of using the medical system go down, everyone pays less.
States with access to medical cannabis saw rates of use of the medical system decline. This is also because these health insurance premiums do not cover cannabis used for medical purposes. As individuals who may have otherwise used medication that would have been at least partially covered by health insurance are instead using cannabis, the cost to the system itself goes down, benefitting all who pay in.
However, these effects take time. Researchers found decreases in health insurance premiums starting seven years after medical cannabis became legal in a particular state, but the downward trend continued in the following years.
“We find a statistically significant decrease in health insurance premiums starting in year seven post-MCLs, and this downward trend is persistent for following years,” the paper notes.
“Our results are important as health care expenses, including health insurance premiums, have been growing faster than inflation and comprise an increasing share of a household’s budget.”
Researchers used figures from Arizona, Connecticut, and New Jersey as these are the only states with seven or more years of post-implementation data. The study also excluded states like California, Washington, Oregon, and Colorado that legalized medical cannabis before 2010.
To better understand how these savings could benefit the health insurance sector moving forward, researchers looked at 18 US states that had legalized medical cannabis between 2010-2021 that were not included in the survey results because the systems there are not yet seven years old.
If these states have a similar experience to those observed in this study (Arizona, Connecticut, and New Jersey), researchers estimate a similar savings of about $1,600 per person annually, an annual health insurance premium savings of approximately $9.6 billion.
The paper also estimates that if medical cannabis laws (MCLs) were enacted nationally, the US could have a savings of at least $16.8 billion.
A new study from Statistics Canada has found that 1 in 20 Canadians who had consumed cannabis in the past year were at risk for cannabis use disorder.
Researchers asked Canadians about their cannabis usage in 2019 and 2020, with an estimated 6.5 million saying they had consumed cannabis in the previous 12 months.
Of those respondents, more than one-third (38 percent) said they used cannabis less than once a month, while one-quarter reported using cannabis weekly or one to three times a month. Another 26 percent said they used cannabis daily or almost daily.
While more than three-quarters (77.3 percent) of those who reported using cannabis at least once in the past year said they would not have a problem quitting, just under five percent were found to be at risk of cannabis use disorder—the equivalent of 299,543 Canadians in total. Most of these respondents were single men aged 25-44 who started using cannabis at 15 or younger.
About one in five of those Canadians said that their cannabis use led to health, social, legal, or financial problems, and they were more likely to fail to accomplish expected tasks due to their cannabis use.
Unsurprisingly, the study found that cannabis users who were at the highest risk of addiction were those who used cannabis frequently. Single or never-married people, men aged 18 to 24 years and from lower-income households, people diagnosed with an anxiety or mood disorder, or who started consuming cannabis at age 15 or younger, monthly or more, were also at higher risk.
The results of a new study out of California call into question the accuracy of field sobriety tests from law enforcement officers in detecting THC impairment.
The study, published in Jama Psychiatry in August 2023, was conducted from February 2017 to June 2019 at the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research, University of California, San Diego. Results were analyzed from August 2021 to April 2023.
Researchers gave 121 participants a cannabis joint to smoke, with another 62 receiving a placebo, and then had law enforcement officers trained in field sobriety testing determine which participants were impaired.
While these experts had a relatively high accuracy rate in determining which of the 121 who smoked a THC joint had done so, it also found they thought that about half of those who smoked the hemp joint were also impaired.
The placebo joint smoked by 62 people contained only .02 percent THC, with others receiving joints rolled with cannabis that contained either 5.9 percent THC or 13.4 percent THC. Participants could smoke as much of the joint as they chose.
The participants aged 21 to 55 had used cannabis in the past month.
Officers classified 98 participants, or 81 percent of the THC group, as being impaired, while they found half (31) of the non-THC group also to be impaired. Officers used a simulated driving test and standard field sobriety testing such as a one-leg stand.
Of the 128 participants law enforcement officers said were impaired, they suspected 127 as having consumed THC.
The study concludes that, due to the high rate at which the officers determined people from the non-THC group as being impaired, field sobriety testing on its own may not be enough to accurately determine THC impairment.
This recent study out of California, where field sobriety testing was first introduced in the 1970s, further emphasizes this uncertainty. Combined with how long cannabis can stay in the bloodstream, long past any likely impairment, this only adds to the difficulty in accurately determining cannabis impairment.
A 2021 report from Quebec based on coroners’ and medical examiners’ report data from toxicological analyses found that when cannabis was present, 20 percent had a THC blood concentration between 0.5 and 1.9 ng/mL, 44% between 2.0 and 4.9 ng/mL, and 36 percent over 5 ng/mL. Canada’s prohibited blood drug concentration (BDC) level is between 2 ng and 5 ng THC per ml of blood.
A THC rate below 2 ng/ml does not necessarily indicate recent use, while a rate over 5 ng/ml is associated with impaired driving and recent use. In addition, a rate over 5 ng/ml increases the likelihood of an impairment-responsible crash. Polydrug use was found in 79% of cases.
A researcher at the UBC Biodiversity Research Centre is teaming up with a geneticist at Aurora Cannabis to adapt cannabis for outdoor production.
The work is one of eight new projects that have received a combined $1.84 million in funding from the Genomic Innovation for Regenerative Agriculture, Food and Fisheries (GIRAFF) program—a collaboration between Genome BC and the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC (IAF) with support from the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food.
Dr. Marco Todesco from the University of British Columbia and Jose Celedon, director of genetics at Aurora Cannabis, are working to develop cannabis cultivars better suited to Canadian climates and environment to address the carbon footprint of indoor cannabis production. By some estimates, about four percent of the total greenhouse gasses from Canadian agriculture come from cannabis production, primarily indoor production.
Our project uses leading-edge genomics technologies to help develop more sustainable cannabis varieties that can be grown outdoor at Canadian latitudes, reducing greenhouse gas emission from cannabis cultivation in BC and beyond.
Dr. Marco Todesco, UBC Biodiversity Research Centre
The team is working on developing more suitable commercial cultivars for use in outdoor settings by cross-breeding so-called autoflower characteristics into “elite” cannabis genetics.
Dr. Todesco, assistant professor at the Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, says the goal is to develop cultivars better suited to not just BC but all of Canada.
“The cannabis industry plays an important role in the BC economy, but unfortunately, cannabis cultivation in indoor facilities also has an enormous carbon footprint,” says Todesco. “Our project uses leading-edge genomics technologies to help develop more sustainable cannabis varieties that can be grown outdoor at Canadian latitudes, reducing greenhouse gas emission from cannabis cultivation in BC and beyond.”
The program has a budget of $250,000 for its research and began the work in 2022.
Dr. Caledon, the director of breeding and genetics at Aurora Cannabis, applauds the work of UBC in collaboration with the cannabis producer.
“As a global cannabis company enabled by science, we are proud to invest in the continued advancement of cannabis cultivation that will positively impact the longevity of the industry in Canada. Our long-standing relationship with UBC has allowed for valuable, collaborative work in genomics. Our shared findings from the GIRAFF project will be applied to Aurora’s leading growing practices today and in the future, supporting a more sustainable industry.”
This is not the first cannabis breeding program involving UBC and Aurora, which operates its cannabis breeding facility on Vancouver Island, Aurora Coast, which hosts the Occo research centre. In 2020, more than $4.2 million in federal, provincial, and industry funding was announced to aid with UBC research into enhanced cannabis cultivars, focusing on disease resistance.
“There is a misconception amongst growers and LPs, both domestically and internationally, that you cannot protect or own the genetics around a particular cultivar, ” Aurora CEO Miguel Martin said earlier this year. “That’s completely untrue. We are licensing unique genetic markers of these cultivars that we develop, and we are able to identify those that are infringing upon that; the law is very clear on this issue. We’ll have a very strong case. You’ll start to see litigation around that, as well as those that we believe have infringed on some of our bio-synthetic assets, and that’s also an additional revenue stream for the company.”
The project was part of a larger $56.4 million in funding from the federal and provincial government, as well as private industry and is part of 10 new genomics research projects funded through Genome Canada in conjunction with Genome BC. Genome Canada is a non-profit organization funded by the Government of Canada that seeks to use genomics-based technologies to improve the lives of Canadians. Genome BC is a not-for-profit organization undertaking similar research in BC.
Aurora also says their Coast facility has produced ten new cultivars launched during fiscal 2023, including two high-THC cultivars—Sourdough and Farm Gas— that have also launched in Europe and Australia.
Charles Pick (left), senior vice-president of science and innovation for Aurora Cannabis, and Greg Baute at Aurora’s cannabis facility in Comox, B.C.
The High Hopes Foundation, a community group providing access to medical cannabis in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, recently launched a pilot project to explore the potential for cannabis as a substitute for people with severe alcohol dependence.
The group was selected by the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research as a partner in launching the project, which will evaluate cannabis substitution intervention as a component of its Managed Alcohol Programs (MAPs) for people with alcohol use disorders who are experiencing unstable housing.
That study, titled, in part, “If I knew I could get that every hour instead of alcohol, I would take the cannabis,” explores the potential of using cannabis within MAPs. Many of the participants in the MAPs program said they were already using cannabis as a substitute for cravings and withdrawals, preferring dried cannabis, followed by edibles and oil capsules.
The paper concludes that cannabis substitution was a viable approach but noted a need for proper funding and “inexpensive, legal, and reliable sourcing of cannabis.” High Hopes typically provides cannabis to registered patients through its own medical cannabis sales licence at a few dollars a gram, but the Health Canada program will cover the cost of cannabis used within the program.
Sarah Blyth, High Hopes’ founder, has deep roots in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside community and says she and her team are excited to begin their work.
“As research partners, High Hopes is eager to further explore cannabis as an alcohol harm reduction tool,” Blyth tells StratCann. “Our prior work has demonstrated cannabis’ promise in reducing opioid misuse and improving patient quality of life. We now aim to apply that expertise to studying cannabis as a potential therapeutic for alcohol addiction.
“With our experienced team of researchers and peer workers, High Hopes will continue pioneering safe, effective cannabis treatments to address major community health concerns.”
High Hopes notes that early feasibility study data shows promising results for cannabis as an alcohol substitution:
63% already substitute cannabis for alcohol. Of those, 52.6% use cannabis daily and 42.1% use it weekly for alcohol substitution.
78.9% use cannabis for alcohol cravings, 52.6% for withdrawal symptoms.
84% would participate in a cannabis substitution program if offered. 57.9% felt cannabis could help reduce drinking but cited availability and cost as barriers.
78.9% are open to partial substitution, 63.2% to complete substitution.
The community organization received their medical sales licence in 2022 and, after a long search, secured its first supply partnership with Canna Farms, a cannabis grower located just a few hours outside Vancouver in Hope, BC.
Blyth says they have also established two discreet, official pick-up locations for its patients, with plans to add more soon.
A group of researchers in Vancouver are trying to help cannabis pre-roll manufacturers better understand the most effective and efficient particle size for ground cannabis flower in a joint.
“Our aim is to provide cannabis pre-roll manufacturers with tools to better control the delivery of cannabinoids upon smoking of a pre-roll, thus allowing the user to be better informed on the amounts being consumed during joint smoking” notes a paper shared online earlier this year. Researchers also shared their findings at the e Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition in Vancouver in June.
With the growing popularity of pre-rolls, which continue to increase in popularity in Canada, the research team wanted to look at how the particle size of ground cannabis flower impacts the effectiveness of cannabinoid delivery to the consumer.
The study looked at samples of ground cannabis separated into 1, 3, and 5-mm particle sizes. They rolled half-gram joints and “smoked” 18 of them using a Cambustion Smoke Cycle Simulator. The machine takes a 50 cc “puff” of cannabis at a time until the pre-rolls are finished.
Researchers took a sample via a filter from three puffs of the joint, taken at the beginning, middle, and end of the joint, and then analyzed those filters to see the total amount of cannabinoids present.
They found that the lowest amount of cannabinoids was delivered at the beginning of the joint, with the highest at either the end or the middle.
Both the 1-mm and 3-mm joints showed around a 50% increase in THC delivery from the first sampled puff to the middle of the pre-roll, while the 5-mm samples showed a 500 percent increase.
The results also showed that the amount of CBD delivered in each measured puff was higher than that of THC in absolute terms, ranging from 2.3 mg/puff to 6.1 mg/puff. The 1-mm and 3-mm particle sizes showed an increase in the amount of CBD delivered from middle to end, while the 5-mm CBD particles showed larger increases at the end of the joint.
Overall, the results showed that a smaller particle size burned more easily, which they say should create more “high potency” puffs.
The 1-mm and 3-mm ground cannabis particle sizes delivered 16–19 mg of THC, in comparison to the 5-mm joint which delivered 28 mg of THC. When measuring CBD, they found that the 5-mm particles delivered around 100 mg CBD per half-gram joint, compared to the 1-mm and 3-mm joints which reached around 90 mg CBD per pre-roll.
So while only about half (34–59 percent) of the THC in each joint was transferred to the theoretical consumer, the amount of CBD transferred in each puff was closer to 100%.
However, while the smaller particle size seemed to be more efficient at delivering THC to the consumer, it also meant the joint would burn faster, potentially countering this effect. Whereas a larger particle size was less efficient in delivering available THC but because it burned slower, it might provide more THC overall throughout the course of consuming the pre-roll.
This same trend was not noticed with CBD.
“Analogous to a kindling fire that burns vigorously, it would make sense that a 1-mm particle size leads to a greater propensity for uncontrolled combustion,” notes the research paper.
“In the case of the larger 5-mm particle size, the low reproducibility could simply be attributed to the additional puffs these joints needed to ignite at first. Moreover, as these joints took significantly longer to complete and thus have larger puff counts, it is unsurprising that the puff count reproducibility might be slightly higher. However, the kindling analogy does not appear to apply to the 1-mm CBD joint which smoked very reproducibly, suggesting that other factors might be encouraging controlled burning, such as flower humidity.”
“There’s a lack of quantitative research on joint smoking. I want to understand what happens during inhalation on the chemistry side,” researcher Markus Roggen, president and chief science officer of Delic Labs, a cannabis and psilocybin research facility in Vancouver, British Columbia told Scientific American.
All four researchers involved, Tim Sun, Dr. Hart Plommer, Sajni Shah, and Dr. Markus Roggen are with DELIC Labs in Vancouver, Canada. Direct correspondence to: [email protected]
In a room located next door to a cannabis store on Yonge Street in downtown Toronto, Lit Research offers producers a way for consumers, store owners, and budtenders to learn about and experience new, up-and-coming cannabis products.
Launched in the fall of 2022, Lit Research bills itself as a hub for the cannabis community, helping cannabis producers and brands to provide a unique, value-added educational experience to anyone looking to learn more about their products.
Al Shefsky, the founder of Lit, as well as the neighbouring business Body and Spirit Cannabis, has been hosting multiple cannabis tasting and sampling events every week at his location just up the street from Dundas Square since first opening.
He’s quick to clarify that Lit Research is not a consumption lounge. The business operates under a federal cannabis research licence that allows for sensory testing of products. Licence holders can conduct organoleptic/sensory testing to evaluate factors such as the taste, touch, sight, and smell of cannabis products with human participants.
A presentation during an event at Lit Research
“The producers come in to educate about who they are, about the product, and then you get a guided tasting opportunity where consumers test cannabis by smoking it. It’s unique. There are no other companies doing it like this to my knowledge. So it’s great for the consumers.”
“Participants value the experience and say it’s a special opportunity for them to see and try new products before and after they reach the market,” he continues, explaining this can then be beneficial for buyers, store owners, and budtenders.
“They also like the idea that their feedback matters. Every participant fills out a Participant Evaluation Form, and then we report that data back to the licensed producer. So they’re feeling empowered.”
In order to get the licence, which he says took about a year, he also had to undertake a significant remodel of the room to be used for research, including installing a high-grade HVAC air exchange system to allow consumers to comfortably smoke or vape products indoors.
Those participating in the study must also fill out information on their experience as a consumer and their thoughts on the products sampled.
Shefsky says Lit Research has held several research sessions every week since opening, with some producers using it as a chance to share products expected to be launched soon in the Ontario market, while others use it as a chance to determine which products they end up bringing to market at all.
“We quickly realized we had more room than we needed and were finding it hard to compete with all the new stores—especially since unlicensed stores continued opening and operating with significant competitive cost advantages in our area. I was looking at all the options, reading the regulations, when we decided a research licence could allow us to create something unique for the community.”
Al Shefsky – Lit Research
The idea for the research centre started as a way to optimize the high rent space occupied by Body and Spirit in the increasingly competitive and saturated retail market in Toronto. Shefsky says his retail store at 361 Yonge St. was the fifth cannabis retailer licensed in Ontario’s second round, following a lottery in 2019 to open the first 50 stores in the province. Body and Spirit opened in May 2020, just as covid restrictions were beginning to come into place, meaning they quickly had to find new ways to stay relevant and economically sustainable.
“We got into the market early,” continues Shefsky,” but we quickly realized we had more room than we needed and were finding it hard to compete with all the new stores especially since unlicensed stores continued opening and operating with significant competitive cost advantages in our area. I was looking at all the options, reading the regulations, when we decided a research licence could allow us to create something unique for the community.”
Anyone over the age of 19 can take part in the sensory testing at Lit Research, although some events are invitation only. Participants are vetted to ensure they understand any potential risks involved. The room itself has a capacity of 48 people. Each table has a vaporizer and various smoking and vaping accessories like grinders and rolling trays, and participants have access to plenty of water as well as games and snacks.
Producers and brands have an opportunity to engage directly with participants, giving not only their brand story but also information about each product or cultivar, and talking points that retailers and producers may be interested in.
Shefsky advises anyone else looking into a similar approach to do their homework beforehand and understand the process, the timelines, as well as the fairly strict parameters around Health Canada’s research licence. Participants cannot be asked, for example, about any medical effects, but can only convey information about sensory attributes such as taste or aroma.
A recent study in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs examined cannabis consumer preferences as they relate to choosing where and what to purchase.
The study shows that cannabis consumers in Canada are willing to pay more for a higher quality, legal flower with an emphasis on high THC.
However, their motivations have less to do with price and more to do with THC potency and package and label information.
Those with more loyalty to the legal market tended to prefer pre-rolls and were more likely to be less frequent consumers. In contrast, more high-volume consumers preferred larger-volume packaging and were more likely to care about THC potency and price.
Researchers highlight that the results show a balancing act for regulators with public health regulatory goals, while also allowing for product types and packaging that will appeal to consumers more likely to turn to the unregulated to meet their needs.
Three types of consumers
The study divided respondents into three mostly distinct groups and had them rate purchase preference for cannabis flower based on characteristics like THC potency, moisture level, price, packaging, legal status, and recommendations.
The first group, about 30 percent of the 891 total participants, based purchases on a preference for high THC (+25 percent) and price. These tended to be more long-time consumers who use cannabis regularly and were more likely to have an ideological preference for unlicensed sources.
The second group, about 40 percent of all respondents, were more likely to make purchasing decisions based on product type and the amount of information on the label. This group preferred larger packaging and whole flower over pre-rolls and tended to put more importance on proper moisture level than the other two groups.
The third group, 30 percent of the respondents, were also most motivated by packaging type but instead had a preference for pre-rolls over other dried flower SKUs. While most consumers didn’t rate legal cannabis as a high priority in purchasing decisions, this group gave it more importance than the first two groups. This group also tended to consume less often than the other two and were more likely to report starting or restarting cannabis use after legalization.
“When all other attributes were held constant, participants were willing to pay about $15 more for 3.5 grams of dried flower packaged in a bag compared to pre-rolled packages, $8 more for dried flower that had a medium moisture content compared to low, $34 more for 3.5g of dried flower that was 25%+ THC compared to 10-14.9% THC, $19 more for detailed package information compared to no detail, and $9 more for a product that was regulated by Health Canada compared to no regulation.”
All three groups didn’t give much weight to recommendations, including online reviews, family and friends, or retailers. The first group gave more importance to online reviews, the second group had a slight preference for family and friend recommendations, and the third group tended to be more motivated by retailer recommendations.
Although there was some crossover in reporting groups, most tended to fit into just one category. Overall, consumers placed a low priority on recommendations. They were willing to pay more for dried flower than pre-rolls, more for flower that wasn’t overly dried, more for high THC flower, and more for detailed product information on the label.
Despite fears that legalizing cannabis would lead to troubling increases in problematic cannabis use, a new study is once again showing these concerns were over-hyped.
Anyone who was around post-2015, from the #toasterbud affair to the hysteria following Canadian Senator Nicole Eaton’s revelation that five grams of cannabis is equivalent to four tokes, is well aware that a certain subset of Canadian politics has been staunchly afraid that the only possible outcome of recreational legalization could be widespread reefer madness and the full-blown undermining of any semblance of cultural and/or economic normalcy that had been retained from the post-war boom, when everything was perfect for 15 or so years, and only degenerate criminals partook in the Devil’s Lettuce. <gasp>
Despite this hyperbole, as with any movement of great effect, there were an array of reasonable concerns surrounding legalization from rational parties. And now that recreational legalization has been demonstrating its effect for some time in many jurisdictions, researchers have some solid data to work with in analyzing the validity of these concerns.
Earlier this month, a new study from researchers at the universities of Waterloo and Toronto examined one of these reasonable concerns: that of increased cannabis use disorder.
For the purposes of this study, the presence of use-disorder was determined using the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria for cannabis dependence and abuse [8], the Cannabis Use Disorder Identification Test-Revised [9] and the World Health Organization Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) [10],” with researchers noting that “these scales typically assess a combination of frequent use as well as negative consequences on employment, social relationships and health.”
The study also notes that in terms of non-problematic use, the number of people who had used cannabis once in the last month, last three months, or last twelve months, did increase. But was this also indicative of an increase in problematic use?
The short answer is no.
The long answer is also no.
Researchers screened groups of people of varying ages for problematic cannabis use in 2018, 2019, and 2020. In 2018, 89.1 percent of subjects were rated as low risk for problematic risk, versus 88 percent in 2020.
Researchers concluded that “overall, in the initial period following legalization in Canada, levels of problematic use have changed very little at the population level.”
Adding to this conclusion, researchers noted that “modest differences in problematic use risk scores were observed based on various socioeconomic indicators as well as race/ethnicity,” indicating that “future research should continue to monitor the prevalence of problematic cannabis use indicators keeping these factors in mind to ensure that any potential drawbacks of legalization are not disproportionately impacting marginalized populations.”
In the past, other studies have arrived at similar conclusions. This study from October of last year concluded that while “cannabis legalization in Canada was associated with a greater perception of cannabis harm among young people,” it was “also easier access.” This indicates that harm reduction messaging is having the desired effect, while ease of access to a regulated supply is ensuring that those who choose to partake aren’t putting themselves at mortal risk by doing so.
Also, in 2021, The Journal of the American Medical Association published a survey of about 830,000 Americans that showed cannabis use did not increase in any significant way following legalization in any of the states that had chosen to do so at that point.
So while the widespread recreational legalization of cannabis has certainly increased access, availability, and safety, at present it does not seem that this has precipitated the kinds of doomsday scenarios that Conservative Senators Gladu and Eaton raised alarm bells over back in the early days, or even anything resembling them.
A new study in the US argues that inflated THC levels on cannabis products undermine industry credibility.
Researchers tested 23 samples of cannabis from 10 Colorado stores, comparing those results against the label. They found that, on average, the products were 23 percent lower in THC than advertised.
Although consumer choices continue to be driven by a desire for higher-THC products, the average observed THC levels were just under 15 percent from all samples tested.
Inflation of THC levels isn’t new. Research in Canada and the US has highlighted the issue for years. In Canada, the industry has been calling for more oversight of labs and testing standards.
Nearly two-thirds of the samples tested 15 percent lower than advertised, while three samples were half as low as claimed on the label.
Colorado’s testing standards require a producer to report THC levels as a range based on the highest and lowest percentages from the test batch. However, not all products were labelled in a range.
The samples used were one to two grams in size, looking at 12 different dried cannabis varieties. Researchers also included a handful of results from other studies.
Eighteen of those 23 samples showed THC levels below the labelled testing results. Only one of the products tested showed a higher THC level than the lowest from the range on the product label.
Although THC can degrade over time, the paper contends that this was not a factor given the lack of excessive levels of CBN, a byproduct of THC degradation.
To help address these issues, researchers in this study argue that regulators in Colorado need to do more to ensure that growers are using a representative sample rather than selecting the most potent flowers, as well as enforcing more strict product reporting rules.
Hubert Marceau, the director of development at Laboratoire PhytoChemia—an analytical testing lab in Quebec that tests cannabis products in the Canadian market—says the results once again highlight that most cannabis on the market does not have nearly as much THC as consumers might think.
“What is striking is that even with the samples that reported a range, most of the time the measured value is outside by a large margin,” says Marceau. “This should be the exception. Another interesting thing is that none of the samples cross the famed 20 percent threshold.”
“The fact the standard deviation of the observed values are about half as the reported ones, this means that all samples, regardless of the strain, would have a very similar THC content, even though it seems that there is more diversity on the market.”
Marceau says consumers should look at these results as a good example of why they should not be basing purchasing decisions solely on advertised THC levels.
Quebec’s annual survey that follows the evolution of cannabis consumption in the province shows no increase in cannabis use in the province from the previous year.
Young people are also less likely to use cannabis than prior to legalization, and those who do use it are waiting longer to start.
However, the number of young people vaping cannabis is on the rise, despite the products being banned in the province.
The 2022 Quebec Cannabis Survey shows that 19 percent of Quebecers used cannabis in 2022, about the same as the previous year. However, previous surveys do show a small increase from 14 percent to 19 percent following legalization.
Men in Quebec are more likely to use cannabis compared to women, with 23 percent of men and 16 percent of women reporting their use.
In 2022, younger Quebecers aged 21-24 were the most likely to use cannabis, with 40 percent of those surveyed reporting their use of cannabis. This was followed by 25-34 year-olds at 37 percent.
Although use has been increasing slightly among adults in Quebec, there has also been a decrease in the proportion of consumers aged 15-17 reporting their use of cannabis since 2018 when cannabis was legalized.
Cannabis vaping on the rise
Despite not being a legal product in Quebec, the report shows an increase in residents vaping cannabis, from about 19 percent in 2021 to 24 percent in 2022. For young people aged 15-17 who reported using cannabis, the number who vaped was about three times higher, from more than 24 percent in 2019 and almost 44 percent in 2021 to 70 percent in 2022.
As in other provinces, smoking cannabis remains the most popular mode of consumption, but has declined slightly from 85 percent of use in 2021 to 82 percent in 2022.
Almost half of respondents (42 percent) who used cannabis did so less than once a day, and around 19 percent did so only about one to three days a month. About one-quarter (24 percent) used cannabis one to six days a week, and 14 percent said they used cannabis on a daily basis.
Around 30 percent of consumers reported using edibles or ingestible oils or capsules.
Black market is shrinking
Around two-thirds of cannabis users (67 percent) in Quebec said they bought cannabis at least once from the Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC), about the same as the previous year.
Only about 8 percent reported getting cannabis from an illicit source, down from 11 percent in 2021 and 32 percent in 2018. Another 40 percent reported getting cannabis from a family member, friend, or acquaintance.
Quebec’s efforts to educate people about health concerns related to cannabis use are also proving successful. Around 79% of Quebecers aged 15 and over say they have seen or heard of such campaigns in 2022.
Ninety-one percent of young people aged 15-17 reported seeing such messaging, followed by 88 percent of 18-20 year-olds and 86 percent of 21-24 year-olds.
One cannabis testing lab in Canada, with several years of experience in the industry, says most of the cannabis they have analyzed is around 18-24 percent THC, with only a fraction cracking the 30 percent threshold.
In data recently shared with StratCann, High North Laboratories says less than one percent of samples they’ve tested showed results of over 30 percent total THC: just 154 in more than 20,000 cannabis samples. The data was anonymized to remove client names and other identifying information.
Rick Moriarity, COO of High North Laboratories, says they are sharing the information now to add to the conversation around consumer expectations for high THC products. While the market increasingly demands higher and higher THC products—sometimes pushing into the high twenties and even thirties—Moriarity says the cannabis flower they have analyzed tends to be around 21 percent THC.
In fact, after controlling for lower-THC products they test (like hemp or more CBD-rich flower), just over half of nearly 20,000 samples were in the range of 18 to 24 percent THC.
These findings mirror research published in 2021 in the US that showed a similar breakdown of THC levels peaking around 18 to 20 percent.
The expectation of high THC being the only indicator of quality, says Moriarity, isn’t realistic. It can be a factor, but not the only one.
“I hope this information can help guide consumers not to be looking at total THC for a purchase decision. There’s nothing wrong with looking at the total THC to see what it is and if it is a CBD or balanced product; however, it should not influence you enough that you walk into a store and say, “what’s your highest THC flower?”
One of the problems, he acknowledges, is that consumers are focussing on THC, at least in part, because they can’t decide based on aroma, as many consumers could do in the pre-legal market.
“With the regulations around packaging, it is not easy to look and smell before making a purchase decision. I know some stores have jars with little air holes that you can look at and attempt to smell the flower. It’s better than not having that option, but the flower gets old quickly that way and is not truly representative. So I understand why, but THC alone isn’t a good replacement for that.
“Terpenes are one other factor to consider, as is our endocannabinoid system and several other important cannabinoids that we’re only just starting to learn more about. The point is, this all amounts to so much more than just that one number for THC. And that’s even if those numbers are accurate, which obviously, they often aren’t.”
He adds that he doesn’t mean all lab testing is inaccurate, but emphasizes that “the numbers are not accurate when being inflated by a select few non-reputable labs.”
Similar to another cannabis lab that recently shared results of off-the-shelf products they tested, High North shared with StratCann what they say are the results of 35 cannabis flower products they purchased from cannabis stores. As with their other internal testing results, High North removed producers names in the info provided to StratCann.
Of these, nine were within an acceptable deviation range of no more than 12 percent, while most were within between 20 to nearly 100 percent deviation from the labelled amounts. One product tested at 19 percent THC but was listed on the label as having 38 percent. Interestingly, one flower sample that High North’s second test showed at a whopping 31 percent THC was labelled as 38 percent.
Moriarity highlights this specific result as an example of how absurd it is that a producer who is already hitting such a high number like 30 percent, would need to boost those numbers even more.
These results indicate that much of the cannabis on the market is actually in a range of around 20 percent THC, and also how inaccurate at least some of the available product labels are, says Moriarity. The results also highlight the folly of consumers and even provincial buyers in making purchase decisions based on THC alone.
THC content has been the talk of stoners since the molecule’s discovery. We’ve spent decades trying to maximize it—we figured out that stressing out unpollinated female flowers gives us the best buzz and, presumably, the most THC content.
Regardless of your opinion on how much—or even if—THC content affects overall quality, the percentage on the bag is often a large factor in consumers’ purchasing choices.
In the nineties, tokers were looking for legendary Cali bud that supposedly hit the elusive 20% mark. In the short time since, plant morphology has not changed all that much, but the internet has led to growers sharing the secrets they use to maximize trichome coverage.
On a recent product call, the Ontario Cannabis Store is said to have requested more strains that tested above 30% THC. Suddenly, almost every new product in Ontario was hitting marks of 31%, 32%, even a couple 34% batches! Even old SKUs that had never sniffed 26% before were suddenly 30.5%.
Such a steep jump in such a short amount of time, and seemingly relegated to Canada and California labs: Australian labs don’t seem to agree with our numbers up here—a batch of Orange Crescendo sent to Aussie medical outlet Alfie was purported to be 28%, but once tested down under, the new label for the batch was 22%. How did we get here?
In the Canadian legal market, online wholesalers, retailers, and most retail stores are set up in a way that makes THC and price the only things you can judge before the product is in your hands. This blind buying is causing more consumers to ask for the bud with the highest THC, and LP’s are incentivized to make sure they can always be on the top of that list.
The Cannabis Act prescribes a lot about the testing of cannabis, but never explicitly says how cannabis should be tested. Different labs use slightly different methods of finding the levels of cannabinoids, terpenes, bacteria, heavy metals, and all the other things Health Canada requires to be tested in cannabis. Now, certain labs have gained reputations as known “THC inflators,” and some suggest that tests from these labs should raise eyebrows.
One batch of a product recently launched in Ontario purportedly hit 39.58% total THC, and another claims 40.41%. These figures are usually found on cannabis concentrate products like hash and infused pre-rolls. THC and its precursor THCa are predominantly found in the trichome heads of cannabis plants. If these numbers are correct, we can expect approximately 45% or more of the cannabis by weight to be trichome heads. This dense covering of trichome heads would be immediately apparent to even the novice user.
“They should just put a range on the label. Or, even a disclaimer: ‘Flower in bag may be lower than advertised THC.’”
Jennawae Cavion of Calyx and Trichomes in Kingston
How to Test for THC
On a dreary Friday in March, I paid Thomas Fraleigh a visit at his lab in Mississauga. He took me on a tour of his surprisingly small testing space, walking me through the basics of microbial testing, terpene analysis, and cannabinoid content analysis. For the latter, Fraleigh’s lab, Vivariant, uses what’s known as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), which most other accredited labs in Canada also use. There are different types of HPLC used, but the broad strokes are the same.
How it works for Vivariant, in layman’s terms, is that each sample is weighed, homogenized cryogenically, and a specific amount of that homogenized, powdery cannabis sample is combined with a sterile liquid. This combined solution is then put through an HPLC machine, where a filter separates the contents of the sample and each ingredient is registered by a detector.
The ingredients are separated one at a time, and once registered by the detector, they are plotted on a graph in relation to the time they took to separate. This leads to ‘spikes’ on a graph, one for each of the compounds tested for. These spikes are then measured against standard cannabinoid concentrations to find the levels of cannabinoids present in the sample.
Once that is known, a math formula is used that takes into account all of the factors going into the sample—sample weight, amount of cannabis sample powder added to sterile liquid—which then translates the amount of cannabinoids in the solution to the milligrams per gram we see on cannabis labels today.
One part of the process where Fraleigh thinks it may be possible to skew the result is the math formula at the end. One could, theoretically, add more of the cannabis powder sample to the sterile liquid than they account for in the end formula, leading to a higher concentration of cannabinoids in the end test, and therefore a higher overall percentage on the end result.
Vivariant’s methodology is tested regularly by Proficiency Testing Canada, an organization that sends labs homogenized cannabis samples for testing. The issue with this is that the samples are clearly marked. If a lab were purposely skewing results, it would be very simple for them to not skew the results provided to PT Canada.
Fact-Checking
Health Canada allows a 15% variance in the stated label claim of cannabinoid content on some regulated cannabis products. Theoretically this means that, legally, your bag that’s marked as 27% THC could contain some bud that tests anywhere from 23% to 31%.
What happens when the weed in the bag falls outside of that allowance? So far, not much. Tom Ulanowski, the chair of C-45 Quality Association, has been raising similar concerns with Health Canada as far back as October 2021. C-45 has a vested interest in accurate testing, as they represent a number of labs and quality assurance professionals across Canada’s cannabis industry. As of yet, Health Canada has not taken any action…. Well, not since 2015 at least. That was the last time Health Canada issued a recall of a product based on inaccurate THC labeling. And yes, eagle-eyed reader, 2015 was before recreational cannabis was legal.
So what would it take to trigger a recall? Let’s find out.
I submitted a sealed sample of the 39.58% bag, a product called Pearadise by Wink, to Vivariant for independent analysis. The result? Vivariant tested the flower in the bag at 22.19% Total THC—a whopping 44% below the nearly 40% stated on the label. I’ve submitted a complaint to Health Canada about the difference in the stated amount vs the tested amount. Wink responded saying they trust their lab, Pathogenia, to give accurate results, and offered the original batch Certificate of Analysis (COA).
Editor’s note:A representative forWeed Me, which brought the Wink product to market, provided this comment to StratCann in response noting they will begin vetting the results from their tests with multiple labs. In part:
“As more and more incredible people apply their remarkable skills perfecting their respective art of cultivating cannabis, we at Weed Me are continually impressed with what they are producing. Through improvements in techniques, fertilization, light and environmental controls and most importantly development of genetics, some of the results we see are hard to believe.
“We equally listen to you as the consumer, and we hear that ultra high potency flower, approaching or exceeding that of infused products, can be hard to believe. In response to these concerns we will implement a competing double-testing methodology of any strains that test over 34% THC. We will submit samples for testing to 2 different 3rd party analytic laboratories and provide the average of the 2 in an effort to most accurately represent the product specifications. While the labs are licensed and regulated by Health Canada we feel it important to go the extra step and double-check. This testing is in addition to the testing provided to us by our cultivating partners.”
Other high-THC products are being called into question as well. High North Labs recently tested a sample, Raptors Rntz by Celebrity, that claimed on the bag to be 40.4% THC. Their tests showed the product to be only 28.74% total THC. This is still an impressive amount by most standards! But alas, it’s also 29% below the claim on the label.
Finally got some clarity from HC: "Out of the 919 samples collected by Health Canada since October 2018, 68 were tested and found to be in contravention of the requirements set out in the Cannabis Act or its regulations."
They do not clarify what specific actions were taken.
The problem isn’t relegated to extremely high THC numbers, though. Rob O’Brien from Supra Research and Development also tested 46 different whole flower cannabis products in BC, with a variety of products and brands at different price points, THC levels, and bag sizes. Similar to Vivariant’s results, some products were up to 45% below the stated Total THC on the label.
However, O’Brien believes his findings to be a result of inaccurate batch representation in testing, as he found larger buds tested much closer to the stated THC levels than the smaller buds. He believes this to be an issue with LPs who use one crop to fill various sized bags. Larger 3 or 4 gram buds will not fit into 1 gram bags, but are what’s used to test the potency of the whole batch.
What do we do from here?
Everyone has different ideas on how to fix this. Many believe that switching to a “deli style” system, where products are able to be seen and smelled prior to purchase would remove the incentive of testing at ridiculously high THC levels.
Others, like Jennawae Cavion of Calyx and Trichomes in Kingston, had a simpler idea: “They should just put a range on the label,” she says. “Or, even a disclaimer: ‘Flower in bag may be lower than advertised THC.’”
Some believe independent testing at the federal, or even provincial, wholesale level for incoming products should be the norm, with punishments for being outside of the allowance. The OCS has contracted Sigma Analytical for independent analysis of cannabis products, but the extent to which they have tested products remains unclear.
Health Canada said in a statement that of 919 samples they collected since October 2018, when recreational cannabis was legalized, only 68 were tested and “found to be in contravention of the requirements set out in the cannabis act or its regulations.” These 68 could be in contravention for any reason, including failing microbial or pesticide analysis, and do not refer specifically to THC level contravention.
What can be done?
What will happen next remains unclear. Hopefully, it involves more transparency in all aspects of the industry, lest the problem of inflated THC will continue until the balloon eventually pops.
In my perfect world, we would have a hybrid deli-style system alongside the present prepackaged system for those who want it. There’s something to be said for seeing and smelling a product before you purchase it. It would be a long road to get there with regard to regulation changes, but we can do it.
Deli style shops and budtenders who actually tend to your bud is how brick-and-mortar stores started pre-legalization, and, hopefully what we’ll return to. I’d trust my eyes and nose over a number on a bag any day, especially if it doesn’t match what’s actually inside that bag.
~Cass Whichelo
Cass is a cannabis enthusiast and former budtender who resides in Toronto, Ontario. They fight for radical transparency in the cannabis industry and beyond. They can be found on Twitter @terp_kaczynski
The owner of one analytical testing lab is calling out what he says is a serious problem with the accuracy of THC levels on cannabis flower in Canada.
Rob O’Brien, CEO and CSO of Supra Research and Development in Kelowna, BC, recently shared online his own independent testing results from 46 different cannabis products he purchased from BC Cannabis Stores.
The results of his tests show what he says are significant variations in the cannabis flower he tested compared to what was stated on the label. In some cases there was more than a 40 percent difference. In one example results show a product labelled at 34 percent THC to be only 19 percent with his own testing.
Rather than publicly calling out producers or labs, though, O’Brien says his biggest concern is holding federal and provincial regulators accountable. While he shared the results online, he didn’t share the labs, producers, or product names. But he says he did share the entire, unredacted info with the BC government and with Health Canada.
“I’m not here to try to shame companies, I’m here to try to solve this problem,” says O’Brien. “The credibility of the entire sector is in question if we don’t get this right.”
Instead, he’s placing that burden on those two levels of government.
“They are the ones that should be responsible for naming names if that does come up.”
Although he doesn’t rule out labs or producers who may “put their thumbs on the scale,” O’Brien says he believes much of the discrepancies he found in his own testing were due to flaws in how producers are required to take samples for testing in the first place.
There’s no other product on the market where you have this kind of false sense of security, this level of accuracy down to two decimal points.
Hubert Marceau, Laboratoire PhytoChemia Inc.
One of the problems, he explains, is that the current federal regulations only require testing per harvest, even though there can be significant variation in the THC levels in the flowers from that harvest. Flowers closer to the light tend to have higher THC than those further from it. And while some growers take steps to mitigate this, variation of a biological product like cannabis is nearly inevitable.
This, combined with a tendency for producers to then send in only the largest, most impressive flowers that have the highest THC, means that what is actually in the consumers’ packaging won’t necessarily match what the THC numbers show on the label.
“The largest buds are the ones that are closest to the label claim. That’s likely the type of buds that are being sent to the labs for testing. These buds are two to three grams, maybe four at the extreme. And you can’t put a two-gram bud in a one-gram bag. So the smaller package sizes have the smallest buds in them, typically two or three, and those buds are 30-40 percent below the bigger ones. That’s part of the problem.”
Another factor is the tested buds aren’t going through a sometimes disruptive packaging process that can lower the THC level.
“And when you send the first pristine buds to the lab for testing, then the others go through the process of being sorted and packaged, there’s a lot of tumbling and bouncing around, and that knocks off trichomes that affect the THC level. So if you’re testing the packaged product, you’ll be much closer to what’s there.”
If provincial buyers were held more accountable for the products they are generally the gatekeepers of in their provinces, he contends this would immediately force producers to begin better testing procedures on their own, regardless of the minimal requirement from Health Canada for batch lots covering an entire harvest.
This is especially true since, as he points out, most provincial buyers tend to have a bias against cannabis flower that is under 20 percent THC.
“The provincial buyers need to throw away this thing that if you don’t have 20 percent THC on the COA that they’re not going to buy their product. That is ridiculous and is contributing to the problem.”
“THC content has significantly increased over the last two years. We need to have a better regulatory system, and we need to have better transparency.”
The provincial buyers need to throw away this thing that if you don’t have 20 percent THC on the COA that they’re not going to buy their product. That is ridiculous and is contributing to the problem.
Rob O’Brien, Supra Research and Development
Hubert Marceau, a chemist and the director of development at Laboratoire PhytoChemia Inc., an analytical testing lab in Quebec, says consumers should take this kind of knowledge into account when buying cannabis.
Even relatively fair and accurate testing results will always have some kind of variance, he says. Instead, he thinks consumers should think of the THC level on the label as a range, give or take a few points in either direction, not a specific number.
This would account for at least some of the variance in flower size and batch size.
“You can never test the whole batch. So by testing a sample of that batch, you’re only estimating the average. Consumers need to be aware they are askew. There’s no other product on the market where you have this kind of false sense of security, this level of accuracy down to two decimal points.”
Like O’Brien, he says he is also aware of stories that some labs will simply provide the testing results that a processor demands in order to keep their business.
“Eventually, it just becomes a numbers game where people just want to have the higher number and will do everything in their power to have a higher number. And that’s what’s happening here.”
This also brings the credibility of the industry into question for Marceau. THC levels, from his perspective, seem to often hover just under 20 percent THC, so very high THC levels, sometimes well over 30 percent raise his eyebrows.
He references a study from 2021 that showed clustering of testing results from cannabis flower in two US states that, once corrected for outliers from labs found to be inaccurate, showed most cannabis flower, when accurately tested, was around the 20% threshold, some a little under, some a little over.
“Eventually, the plant gets to a point where it can’t produce more THC. There’s no way in hell that THC—that only resides in the trichomes that are on the surface of the flower—is going to be 35 percent of the cannabis.”
Eventually, it just becomes a numbers game where people just want to have the higher number and will do everything in their power to have a higher number. And that’s what’s happening here.
Hubert Marceau, Laboratoire PhytoChemia Inc.
Like O’Brien, he says he thinks a lot of it comes down to the 20 percent (or, in the same cases, even higher) THC threshold some provinces prefer. This creates a situation where cultivars, processors, and labs are all encouraged to push up their levels to meet these demands. And this creates a situation where consumers are largely only able to buy these higher THC products, further cementing the idea of higher THC equalling higher quality.
“You have the consumer who has been told higher THC is better, which is the equivalent of saying only drink everclear alcohol, so the distributor is saying it will only buy lots over 20 percent. This forces the producer to put out more than 20 percent flower.”
My team Supra Research and Development conducted a study on products in BC Cannabis stores. 93% of the 46 products we tested were more than 15% less than label claim. For 1g packages it was worse. We tested 4 sets of 5 with same lot #, below is that data. pic.twitter.com/QIECiwiph5
Health Canada confirms it is looking into the effects of different cannabinoids to create equivalency amounts to delta-9-THC.
The federal regulator plans on collaborating with provinces and territories on the issue and “will continue research and surveillance, data gathering and analysis to support possible future regulatory changes,” according to a statement shared with StratCann. The results of the project are expected during the 2023 calendar year.
The statement comes after two of Canada’s biggest cannabis markets, Ontario and BC, announced they will be pausing approval of any new delta 8 THC products pending guidance from Health Canada. The research will include different cannabinoids, including delta 8.
In order to reduce risks associated with accidental consumption and overconsumption, the federal Cannabis Act and Regulations set limits of 10mg per package for delta-9-THC in edibles, or 1,000 mg for extracts and topicals, but no such limits exist yet for non-delta 9 products.
“While there are currently no similar legal requirements for other intoxicating cannabinoids like delta-8-THC, Health Canada strongly recommends that the total amount of intoxicating cannabinoids should not exceed the regulatory limits set for delta-9 THC, and that testing and accurate descriptions of intoxicating cannabinoid content be clearly indicated on product labels,” a Senior Media Relations Advisor with Health Canada shared via email.
“While there are currently no similar legal requirements for other intoxicating cannabinoids like delta-8-THC, Health Canada strongly recommends that the total amount of intoxicating cannabinoids should not exceed the regulatory limits set for delta-9 THC, and that testing and accurate descriptions of intoxicating cannabinoid content be clearly indicated on product labels.”
a Senior Media Relations Advisor with Health Canada
“Delta-8-THC is an intoxicating cannabinoid,” continued the email, “and one of the many cannabinoids found in or produced naturally by the cannabis plant. However, delta-8 THC is not naturally found in significant amounts in the plant. As such, delta-8-THC is typically manufactured from cannabidiol (CBD) by a licensed cannabis processor.”
“Cannabis products containing delta-8-THC have potential health and safety risks that may be similar to delta-9-THC, some of which can be serious or life-threatening. Products containing high levels of delta-8 THC have little to no history of use, so the scientific and medical understanding of their biological effects and health risks is still developing. Health Canada is closely monitoring the emergence of products containing high levels of delta-8 THC, as well as products that may contain high levels of other novel intoxicating cannabinoids, in the Canadian marketplace.”
“Health Canada is currently commissioning preliminary research projects in rodents to begin to compare the psychoactive effects of various cannabinoids other than delta-9-THC. This will help further inform the intoxication equivalency of these non-delta-9 THC cannabinoids to delta-9-THC. The data generated by this and additional potential projects on this topic could help inform public education and awareness efforts, potential risk assessments as well any policies or regulations concerning these substances. The results of this initial pilot project are expected during the 2023 calendar year.”
Delta-8 THC products made a small splash in the Canadian market in 2022, with a handful of companies offering products like gummies, beverages, and vape pens. Speaking with several retailers in Canada, sales for these products appear relatively low, although there seems to be interest in both the novelty of the cannabinoid, as well as the fact they provide a way to provide consumers with more THC per edible than a typical delta-9 THC edible.
“The issue I think that we’re facing here in Canada, is that the delta 8 category here is being examined unfairly under the lens of what’s happening in unregulated markets, very specifically the US. We understand regulators and provincial distributors are looking for more understanding and we think it is important to have a greater understanding of what’s happening.”
Micahel Kestrall, Dynaleo
Steve Schnarr, the manager at This is Cannabis, with two locations in BC, says his stores saw some initial demand, but given there are only a few products, he suspects they get lost in the high-volume shuffle of products on their shelves.
“It was interesting when they came in because it was one of the first products to go past the ten milligrams,” says Schnarr. “We just had, I think, one beverage and one set of gummies. They haven’t moved that well, I would say. I don’t think they’ve been too popular.”
Omi Sahota, a manager at Giggles Cannabis, with two locations in Ontario, says he thinks the lack of popularity is at least partially due to the fact many consumers still don’t know about it. Although he says he was hesitant to bring in the product because of some of the stories and uncertainty from the US market, their initial small shipment (less than 20) in December sold out quickly
“I don’t think the education is there yet in the market,” says Sahota. “I think (producers) need to do a lot more education, not only for customers but for sellers. They never even told us it was available. I would say our customers who tried it, liked it. We also warn everyone that takes it that this is way more potent than normal THC.”
“I think (producers) need to do a lot more education, not only for customers but for sellers. They never even told us it was available. I would say our customers who tried it, liked it.”
Omi Sahota, Giggles Cannabis
Michael Krestell is the executive chairman at Dynaleo, a cannabis producer located in Alberta that specializes in cannabis edibles and beverages and is one of the companies offering delta-8 THC products.
“The issue I think that we’re facing here in Canada, is that the delta 8 category here is being examined unfairly under the lens of what’s happening in unregulated markets, very specifically the US,” says Krestell. “We understand regulators and provincial distributors are looking for more understanding, and we think it is important to have a greater understanding of what’s happening.”
Their delta 8 “soft chews” are available in packs of 10 with 10mg of delta 8 THC and 1mg of delta 9 THC per piece. The company has sold more than 50,000 units so far of the product, primarily in markets like Ontario.
Despite these sales, the delta 8 products are only a small portion of their full product menu, so the policy shift isn’t a big concern for the company, says Krestell. However, he does think that some of the concern relating to the unregulated US market is potentially unwarranted.
With that said, he also notes the company understands the government’s cautious approach.
“We’re pleased that everyone is taking a measured approach as everyone gets up to speed from an education perspective and seeing what the actual experience is with the product in the market.”
A delta-8 vape cart on a cannabis retailer shelf in BC
The policy change does impact the company, though, since they can currently not sell into two of the largest cannabis markets in Canada. Especially when these are all products that have gone through the federal and provincial processes for new cannabis products.
“The impact on us is twofold,” explains Krestell. “One, it constrains an avenue for future growth and we’ve also got commitments out there for purchase of products, and we have delta 8 inventory and purchased bags we have in inventory, so from that standpoint, it’s a little disappointing. We didn’t try to sneak anything by anybody. We went through the NNCP process…. We went through provincial listing processes, and everyone’s interpretation is that nothing here is in contravention of any regulations, and it’s a decision being made to sideline it.”
Health Canada says it will “continue to monitor the effects and risks of all cannabis products, including products with high levels of delta-8 THC, and will take appropriate actions if needed.” Although BC and Ontario are not currently listing any new products of this kind, Health Canada has not currently said they will be implementing a similar policy change nationwide.
Health Canada has released their first two reviews on Adverse Reaction Reports associated with cannabis products.
The most common reports of adverse reactions to cannabis involved ingestible cannabis oils or softgels, and reports were most often from adult women. Younger adults were more likely to report negative effects from inhalable forms of cannabis like dried flower or extracts, while older adults were more likely to report negative effects from cannabis oils or softgels.
While the first year of data collection for 2018-2019 showed 219 adverse reaction reports, the following year saw only 159.
In both years, most reports involved legal cannabis products, while others were associated with the illicit market or from an undetermined source, or from mixing other substances with cannabis.
Of these, 198 (77 in the first year and 121 in the second year) were considered “serious,” with hospitalization as the most frequently reported reason for seriousness. The majority of cases in both years originated from consumers and were reported to Health Canada by cannabis licence holders (federal producers). Only 24% of cases in the first year and 11% in the second year were reported by health care practitioners (HCPs).
Health Canada defines an adverse reaction as “a noxious and unintended response to a cannabis product” and defines a serious adverse reaction as “a noxious and unintended response to a cannabis product that requires inpatient hospitalization or a prolongation of existing hospitalization, causes congenital malformation, results in persistent or significant disability or incapacity, is life-threatening, or results in death.”
Images via Health Canada
As the reporting of adverse reactions by consumers, health care practitioners (HCPs), medical cannabis clinics, and retailers is voluntary, Health Canada notes that serious and non-serious cases from these sources are “likely underreported.”
Cannabis licence holders are required by federal regulations to report any serious adverse reactions.
While the total number of serious cases reported to Health Canada increased by 57% between the reporting periods, from 77 cases in 2018–2019 to 121 cases in 2020, cases where hospitalization was required declined, from 43 in the first year to 33 in the second. In the first year, there were seven reports considered life-threatening, while only one was reported as life-threatening in the second year.
In contrast, the total number of non-serious adverse reaction reports decreased by 49%, from 74 in 2018–2019 to 38 in 2020.
However, reports associated with other medically important conditions increased in the second year, from 27 to 86. “Other medically important condition” includes events that are not immediately life-threatening or do not result in death or hospitalization but may jeopardize the patient or may require intervention (for example, ambulatory services, emergency department visits, outpatient visits with an HCP or at-home medical interventions) to prevent a serious outcome.
Images via Health Canada
In both years, cases involving legal cannabis products were more likely to involve female adults, and the majority of the time involved cannabis oils or softgels. Very few cases were associated with minors (two in the first year and three in the second).
While the first year’s report did not capture a significant amount of cannabis extracts or edibles (most weren’t yet on the market), in 2020, there was one suspected case of vaping-associated lung illness (VALI) that was reported as involving legal cannabis products, and two suspected cases that were reported as involving undefined cannabis. None of these cases were established to be a confirmed or probable case according to the case definition established by the Public Health Agency of Canada, though.
The majority of reports of adverse reactions in both years involved a single legal cannabis product, although some included the mixing of multiple cannabis products. Orally-ingested extracts (ie edibles and/or oils) were the most common product associated with an adverse reaction, followed by inhaled cannabis products.
Cannabis oil products or extracts were more frequently reported in serious cases, while dried cannabis products were more frequently reported in non-serious cases.
Interestingly, most of the cannabis oil products in the adverse reaction cases were considered ‘CBD-dominant’ or ‘CBD-leaning’, while the dried cannabis products were typically reported as ‘THC-dominant’.
Cases involving adults 65 years and older exclusively reported use of cannabis extracts. Cases involving younger adults reported use of dried cannabis and cannabis extracts.
Only those between the ages of 18–64 were involved in adverse reaction cases with vaping liquids, while older adults (≥65 years) were more frequently involved in adverse reaction cases with ingestible oils in liquid form and softgel capsules.
The most common associated events leading to hospitalization were nervous system disorders and psychiatric disorders, followed by “general disorders” and gastrointestinal issues.
Images via Health Canada
The most commonly reported symptoms in the first year were headache, nausea, hallucination, dizziness, and anxiety. Reports of headache and dyspnoea (difficulty breathing) were more frequently associated with THC-dominant products, while reports of dizziness and diarrhea were more frequently reported with CBD-dominant or CBD-leaning products.
In the second year, headaches were replaced by hallucinations as the most frequently reported medical events, followed by dizziness, nausea, euphoria, abnormal feelings, and insomnia.
Different medical events were also associated with different types of products, cannabinoids, and modes of consumption.
In the second year, insomnia and pain were more frequently reported with THC-dominant or leaning products, whereas anxiety and diarrhea were more frequently reported with CBD-dominant or leaning products. Dizziness, loss of consciousness, syncope, and hallucination were also more frequently reported with CBD-dominant or leaning products.
In the first year, instances of headache and dyspnoea (difficulty breathing) were more frequently observed with THC-dominant products, whereas events of dizziness and diarrhea were more frequently reported with CBD-dominant or CBD-leaning products.
Health Canada also notes that more data over the coming years will be needed to draw more solid conclusions. The regulator also highlights that other factors may be contributing to these events including: the age and health status of patients (including pre-existing health conditions and use of concomitant medications); prior exposure to cannabis (for example, cannabis naïve consumers); dosage; route of administration; and knowledge or awareness of effects of cannabis and cannabinoids.
Health Canada also covered one new data point that involved an increased bleeding risk associated with an interaction between orally ingested CBD-dominant cannabis oil products and the anticoagulant medication Warfarin.
Images via Health Canada
Helping to gather data on the topic, the most recent Canadian Cannabis Survey, released in December, also included questions about any accidental exposures to cannabis in the household for humans or pets in the past year.
Under federal cannabis regulations, licence holders are required to submit serious adverse reaction reports for instances involving a cannabis product and are encouraged to voluntarily submit non-serious adverse reaction reports involving a cannabis product. Licence holders can find more information in the Cannabis adverse reaction reporting guide.
Consumers and HCPs are also encouraged to report all adverse reactions to a cannabis product directly to the Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch (CSCB). Consumers and HCPs may also send a report to the LH of the cannabis product.
That online Cannabis Reporting Form can be found here and includes reports for issues relating to marketing and promotion, products and packaging, as well as potential negative health events.
Last Friday, Health Canada announced several changes to the cannabis regulations. While a long-awaited change to beverage equivalency factors is getting most of the attention, the allowance of standard reference materials (SRMs) for product testing is arguably of equal importance.
In particular, the announcement allows for “analytical testing licence holders and federal and provincial government laboratories to produce, distribute, and sell reference standards and test kits, to increase access to cannabis testing materials and thereby support access to a quality-controlled supply of cannabis.”
As unenthused as I am about the prospect of being able to push a wheelbarrow full of weed drinks home from the store now, I’m enthusiastic about this lesser-celebrated advancement.
SRMs allow manufacturers to provide accurate information about the products they sell. For instance, when you read the nutrition information on the label of any food product, you can rest assured that the calorie count and fat content listed are accurate because the equipment used to measure them has been calibrated with an SRM that contains a known quantity of each substance being analyzed.
Now imagine there were no SRMs. Imagine the ice cream you’re eating actually has significantly more fat and sugar in it than the nutrition label states, or only half of the vitamin C.
Until now no such communal standard reference has been available to the cannabis industry, meaning that labs have been left to calibrate their equipment with self-adopted standards. It has been argued that, in the absence of SRMs, some labs might have calibrated their equipment in such a way as to maximize cannabinoid and terpene measurements, which would be desirable to cannabis producers in that there is an established retailer and consumer preference for higher levels of these constituents. It’s much easier to move flower at 20+ per cent than it is at say, 17.5 per cent.
These new standard reference materials have the potential to put an end to inflated cannabinoid and terpene values. Scrupulous labs can now use them to calibrate their equipment, ensuring consistently accurate measurements. They can advertise that they do this. As time progresses, this will become expected, if not mandated.
And what’s more, these materials don’t come cheap. It takes a great deal of time and expensive equipment to produce them and all of the documentation they come with. This presents a potentially lucrative opportunity for licensed labs with the means to manufacture them.
While I’m happy that beverage equivalencies are now more realistic—even though I’m personally not a fan of drinking weed—I’m much more optimistic that in the future this artificial notion that cannabis needs to test above 20 per cent THC in order to appeal to consumers will be a thing of the past.
–Until it closed last spring, Ryan was the general manager of Aurora’s 200-acre outdoor facility in Westwold BC (which is now a heavily fortified garlic farm). He’s currently looking for new opportunities. Previously, he was one-half of Verp, a news editor for Lift (before the ampersand), managing editor at Canlio, and a longtime employee and ally of the Victoria Cannabis Buyers’ Club.
One of the often misunderstood aspects of legal cannabis production is the quality assurance measures many licensed producers take post-harvest to ensure that their product passes a variety of tests. And in the four years since legalization, few have garnered as much attention as the process of irradiation.
Take this Forbes article from April 2022, for example. “Would you smoke ‘nuclear weed’?” asks the headline before quickly (and ominously) answering: “You might already.”
The nuclear weed in question is not, of course, the glowing, radioactive bud image the headline conjures, but cannabis that has undergone irradiation—a quality assurance process, common in both the Canadian and American cannabis industries, that exposes cannabis to radiation in order to bring its microbial levels below regulated thresholds.
“The intent of the irradiation process is not to make up for, or compensate for, really poor sanitation systems or really contaminated product.”
Gordon Dobrindt, Senior Manager Quality Systems, Steris
Irradiation is generally accepted within the cannabis industry as a useful quality assurance process at the end of the production cycle that brings microbial levels under safe thresholds. Many producers routinely irradiate all batches of cannabis as a kind of quality guarantee—not necessarily to bring an unsalable batch up to par, but to provide an assurance that the batch will pass quality tests. “The intent of the irradiation process is not to make up for, or compensate for, really poor sanitation systems or really contaminated product,” said Gordon Dobrindt, senior manager of quality systems at Steris, during an irradiation panel discussion earlier this year. “It’s a final level of insurance.”
But this is far from a unanimous opinion, and critics of how the industry uses irradiation say the process is being “abused” by some producers. Craft producers, meanwhile, are finding that marketing their cannabis as non-irradiated is attractive to quality-conscious consumers coming over from the illicit market.
The public’s understanding of irradiation is spotty. Questions and myths persist about the safety, value, and necessity of irradiation in cannabis production, as well as the impact on the cannabis itself, with many laypersons blaming irradiation for all manner of deficiencies, from dryness, to colour, to poor taste.
When it comes to this oft-misunderstood process, who’s right here? In a way, everyone is.
What is irradiation?
In the simplest sense, irradiation works by exposing harvested cannabis to radiation—commonly either gamma, electron-beam (e-beam), or x-ray—to render contaminants like mould spores and other microbes inert and harmless to the consumer. At the outset of legalization, gamma irradiation was the most common method of decontamination, but since then, some producers have moved to e-beam irradiation, a shorter and cheaper process than gamma that produces comparable results.
There’s little disagreement, even among critics, that the process, which was first used on food in the 1950s, can effectively reduce microbial contamination to safe levels. Irradiation is broadly effective at bringing microbial levels below acceptable, safe-to-consume thresholds. The goal is rarely to sterilize the product completely but rather to bring the microbial levels down. “The limits themselves are pretty strict,” says Siva Kalyan Sompalli, quality assurance technical lead with Aleafia Health. Stripping cannabis of all microbes is unrealistic, he says. “It’s not free of microbes, it’s just that the microbes are within acceptable limits.”
Does it damage the cannabis?
Although a few studies over the years have examined the effect of irradiation on cannabinoids and terpenes, “there really is very limited science out there on this issue at the moment,” says Tess Eidem, a microbiologist and owner of Rogue Micro, a microbial control consultancy in Colorado. “Overall, data is pretty lacking in our industry.”
A 2020 study led by researcher Olga Kovalchuk found that irradiation converted some of the THCa in their samples to THC, as well as noted “changes in several terpenes.” A further study, published in November 2022, found, however, that irradiation “has minimal effects on THCa, delta9-THC and terpene concentrations”—but noted that they achieved that “under well-controlled laboratory conditions” that “do not reflect how cannabis manufacturers may conduct their decontamination procedures.”
Terpenes are a slightly different story. A 2016 study by Bedrocan’s Arno Hazekamp found that “irradiation had a measurable effect on the content of multiple cannabis terpenes, mainly on the more volatile monoterpenes.” The damage was normally found to be in the 10-20% range. “The slight terpene reduction observed in the current study is comparable to the effect that short-term storage in a paper bag had on cannabis samples,” the study found. “A likely explanation, therefore, seems that gamma irradiation slightly accelerates the evaporation of some of the more volatile terpenes.”
But it’s important to note that the degradation of terpenes is not due specifically to the irradiation. “Irradiation itself generates a very small amount of heat,” says Sompalli. “It’s not the irradiation itself that affects the terpenes, it’s the temperature change.”
“You’re growing something that is plant material, in grow mediums where you apply nutrients. You need to have microbes to support plant growth, and that’s the primary source of any microbial contamination itself. It’s a natural balance, a symbiotic relationship.”
Siva Kalyan Sompalli, quality assurance technical lead, Aleafia Health
How are LPs using it?
It’s been estimated that between 80 and 90 percent of Canadian LPs are routinely irradiating their cannabis as a standard practice in order to avoid costly recalls and failed tests. “We are irradiating because we want to guarantee the quality,” said Nina Ackah of Viridis Cannabis during the previously mentioned panel discussion. Microbial regulations are strict. “I believe almost every LP would not be able to meet those limits,” she said. “Irradiation comes in to meet the product specification that we require.”
Producers often claim that their microbial levels can vary a lot, regardless of sanitary practices. Cannabis is a living plant, after all, and microbes are crucial to the process. “You’re growing something that is plant material, in grow mediums where you apply nutrients,” Sompalli says. “You need to have microbes to support plant growth, and that’s the primary source of any microbial contamination itself. It’s a natural balance, a symbiotic relationship.”
Growers with large operations have found that sanitary practices are not always sufficient — some strains encourage more microbial growth than others, while sometimes it is just up to chance. Sompalli, referring to his past experience at a federally-licensed cannabis producer, says it can be a challenging process.
“We have seen that no matter how clean your process is, it’s almost like guesswork.” One batch will pass; the other won’t. “It’s also strain-specific,” he says. “Some strains like a Kush—those dense strains—they’re hard to reduce moisture [which enables microbial growth].”
But not all producers see irradiation as inevitable. Craft growers say that consumers (especially those with a foot still in the legacy market) prefer non-irradiated cannabis. Jonathan Wilson of New Brunswick-based craft grower Crystal Cure says, “in my eyes, if a product has to be irradiated or remediated before it passes a microbial test, then I don’t consider that clean cannabis.” This echoes what any LP, even those who are irradiating, will tell you: irradiation does not exist to replace good microbial control practices, which are the most consequential factor on final microbial levels. “We prefer to be clean all the time and prevent things that would require remediation.” Being able to list one’s product as non-irradiated allows them to communicate this to consumers fairly quickly.
It also represents cost savings. “If we can avoid using it as a company, why wouldn’t we? Irradiation is a very costly process.”
Although federal organic regulations don’t apply to cannabis, some third-party organic certification agencies (such as the Fraser Valley Organic Producers’ Association, for example) require cannabis to be non-irradiated to receive the designation.
Critics of the process say that producers are over-irradiating. “Irradiation is abused in cannabis, in my opinion,” says Eidem. “For sure, in some contexts, these methods may be useful, specifically if a product is strictly medical and the intended use is for immunocompromised patients.” Eidem says that it’s common for producers to build irradiation into their production cycle because irradiation suppliers market it successfully. “Look at some of the irradiation company marketing,” she says. “It says stuff like ‘guaranteed passing,’ and ‘100% passing.’ They don’t talk about quality or integrating this step into their good manufacturing practices.
“People irradiate because it’s a guarantee that no matter what happens in their garden or during post-harvest, they can pass testing,” she argues. “Canada is miles ahead of the U.S. as far as good practices go, but they’re nowhere near where they should be.”
Is irradiation here to stay?
Given the industry’s comfort with the practice, irradiated cannabis is likely going to remain a valuable part of the production process. Done properly, it poses no risk to the end user on its own—though done improperly, Eidem says, it may have the ability to leech toxic chemicals from plastic packaging into the weed.
But others would still like the industry to shift away from irradiation, if only towards improved remediation techniques. Florina Truica, chief technical officer of the Cold Plasma Group in Kingston, Ont., believes her company’s cold plasma technique (which uses cold plasma gases to kill contaminants) offers an improvement. “Our plasma remediation cycles are optimized specifically for use with cannabis flower, balancing the kill efficiency with the need to protect the flower quality. For example, their appearance, the moisture, smell, as well as the precious phytochemicals contained in the cannabis flower,” she explains. “In addition, the treatment penetrates in all the pores of the flower from all directions, ensuring a complete and uniform treatment.” She also says that their cold plasma treatment machines are “several orders of magnitude cheaper, can be operated by the processors’ regular employees, and require only a small footprint of space for installation.”
Supporters of irradiation practices see the issue as a minor one, ultimately, that consumers will eventually forget about. “I think over time, all this will go to the back burner, and consumers will care about more specific things,” says Sompalli. “You consume spices every day—nobody is looking at the labels to see if it is irradiated or not. You are using, on a day-to-day basis, a product that is irradiated; cannabis is no different.”
A new research paper showing evidence of high levels of heavy metals in vape pens suggests the government should require more testing and labelling to help better protect consumers.
The study, a partnership between Health Canada’s Office of Cannabis Science and Surveillance and the National Research Council’s Metrology Research Centre, found evidence of high concentrations of some metals in cannabis vape liquids from both the legal and illegal markets in Canada.
Several of the samples—20 legal and 21 illegal—”significantly exceeded” the established tolerance limits for elemental impurities in inhaled products that are established by the European Pharmacopoeia.
The samples of cannabis vape liquids (from the OCS on the legal side and from the Ontario Provincial Police on the illegal side) were analyzed for metals that are commonly tested for in cannabis, such as arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead. These elements can be present from fertilizers, pesticides or other environmental reasons.
The samples were also then tested for metals that could be present due to leaching from the metallic parts of the vaping devices themselves, such as cobalt, chromium, copper, iron, and several others. Research suggests that the potentially high acidity of cannabis vape liquids can cause these metals to leach into the cannabis oil itself.
The concentrations of arsenic, mercury, and cadmium in all of the tested samples were within the generally accepted tolerance limits, but the concentration of lead exceeded the tolerance limit in one legal vape pen and six illegal ones. Levels of nickel were, in some cases, 900 times above the established limits in several illegal samples.
Only a few of the tested samples exceeded the limits for cobalt and vanadium, and several samples from both markets were above the limits for chromium, copper, nickel, and lead. Several of the samples from the illicit market showed lead concentrations up to 100 times higher than the allowable limit.
Researchers also noted variations in the concentrations of heavy metals in samples from the same products bought at the same time from the same production lot.
All vape pens tested were no more than eight months old, based on available packaging dates. The report noted that other research has shown increasing levels of leaching from nicotine vape products that have sat on shelves for more than two years, suggesting this same process could apply to cannabis vape pens as well.
Several other publications have identified metal particles in the aerosol generated from nicotine vape devices. The vape devices in these studies were heated and cooled multiple times to mimic normal consumer use better, leading to speculation that this process could add to the degradation of the metal into the vape liquid.
However, the products used in this study did not undergo such treatment. Researchers suggest this could point to other sources of contamination, such as the stainless steel aerosol tube and the core of the electrical connector, as a likely source of detected particles.
The health concerns due to the inhalation of these heavy metals, especially in often very fine aerosolized particles, are significant.
Inhaled metals are quickly absorbed through the respiratory tract and can be further transported to other organs. Researchers highlight that lungs are particularly susceptible to nickel toxicity, with adverse effects ranging from lung inflammatory changes to induced rhinitis and sinusitis or allergic dermatitis.
Even low exposure to inhaled lead can result in an increased risk of cardiovascular and kidney diseases, and inhalation of chromium and copper can lead to reduced lung function, an increased risk of asthma, respiratory irritation, or chest pain.
Adding to this, the presence of nanosized metal particles in vape aerosol is also a significant health concern. These very small particles can penetrate deep into the lungs, where they can be more easily absorbed and react even more strongly with the body.
The uneven heating potential of many cannabis vape pens is also a concern, as high levels of heat can potentially create additional new, dangerous compounds.
Because of this high presence of heavy metals in even legal vape pens, researchers in this paper suggest Health Canada and other cannabis regulators should consider requiring additional testing for heavy metals. Testing should also be required after cannabis has been processed into a vape liquid, not only the raw cannabis inputs, as Health Canada currently requires, adds the paper.
It also suggests Health Canada could require more information about the metal components of vape devices, along with the filling date of the vape device, to help consumers make more informed choices and standards for vaping device construction and the materials used.
These proposed amendments would restrict the production, sale, promotion, packaging, or labelling of inhaled cannabis extracts from having a flavour “other than the flavour of cannabis” and would apply equally to inhaled cannabis extracts sold for both medical and non-medical purposes.
A recent study by researchers in Newfoundland and Labrador shows some changes in youth use rates and perceptions of cannabis one year after legalization.
The study, published in October in The Journal of Adolescent Health (JAH), concludes that cannabis legalization in Canada was associated with a greater perception of cannabis harm among young people, but also easier access to cannabis.
Although researchers say there is evidence that legalization was associated with an increase in cannabis initiation rates among young Canadians, there was also no significant increase in the overall prevalence of cannabis use among youths.
It concluded that additional policy measures are needed to curb youth cannabis initiation and their access to cannabis, but also notes a possible increase in cessation among existing users.
The study notes several significant results. Although they didn’t find a significant increase in cannabis use among minors after legalization, there was a higher initiation of cannabis use among those who had not previously admitted to using cannabis.
More than 20% of young people in Canada and more than 13% in the United States reported using cannabis in 2019, with the average age of cannabis use initiation being 14 to 16 years of age.
Researchers also found evidence that youths aged 17 and 18 years actually postponed cannabis initiation after it was legalized. The increase in the perceived harms of cannabis among young people in Canada contradicts research conducted in the US, which the study speculates is likely due to more strict public health messaging around cannabis in Canada compared to the US.
However, the researchers also argue that the increase in “cannabis initiation” following legalization counteracts this factor.
As with the other research it cites, the study notes it is limited by the available data on cannabis use prior to and following legalization. With the cannabis market evolving so quickly in Canada over the four years since legalization, many significant changes will have taken place that could alter the results of future research.
Research looking at Washington and Colorado is not as clear, with both an increase and no change found, while another study showed a decline in youth cannabis use in Washington state.
In the first three years of legalization, Canadian cannabis consumers have had increasingly positive views of legal cannabis products when compared to illegal cannabis products regarding quality, convenience, safety, and price.
Despite this increasingly positive outlook, nearly half of respondents captured in the study still reported that legal cannabis was more expensive than illegal cannabis, while one-fifth reported there was no difference, and only about one in ten reported legal cannabis was less expensive than its illicit counterpart.
Those who were more likely to consume daily or almost daily were more likely to have negative perceptions of the legal market compared to the illegal market when it came to factors like price, quality and convenience.
This view also reflects the declining prices documented in the legal market, especially with the introduction of larger-volume formats like 14, 28, and 30-gram flower offerings, as well as decreasing prices on products like extracts, vape pens, and edibles.
Data for the study were analyzed from more than 15,000 Canadian respondents to the International Cannabis Policy Study who had consumed cannabis in the past year and were of the legal age of access. The survey was conducted in 2019–2021 and completed online.
Over time, data show that respondents tended to show an increase in the consumer perception that legal cannabis is safer and easier to buy and of higher quality, although often more expensive than the black market.
Breaking down responses by demographics such as age, gender, and location, the survey also shows how these shifts affect each group. For example, respondents in Québec were more likely to report that they felt legal cannabis was of higher quality or no different (vs. lower quality) compared to all other provinces except Prince Edward Island.
Those in Nova Scotia and British Columbia were the least likely to say legal cannabis was of higher quality, as well as the least likely to say it was less expensive. Those in Ontario and Nova Scotia were the least likely to say purchasing legal cannabis was more convenient.
Respondents in Québec were also more likely to report that legal cannabis was less expensive than illegal cannabis when compared to those in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia (vs. more expensive; OR reversed). This matches market data showing Quebec with some of the lowest legal cannabis prices in Canada.
Although consumers said that legal cannabis was increasingly more convenient to buy than illegal cannabis, this tended to fluctuate by province, given the significant difference each jurisdiction has in regard to stores per capita, as well as the size of the licit market.
Respondents in British Columbia and Ontario were the least likely to report that legal cannabis was more convenient to buy, likely due to both a robust black market in those provinces and—especially so in Ontario—an initially slow rollout of retail stores (Ontario went from 24 stores in 2019 to 1,042 stores in 2021).
Health Canada says they collected 138 cannabis samples in 2020 to verify chemical (including cannabinoid), microbial, and pesticide results.
Of the 138 samples collected, 109 samples have been tested and confirmed to be acceptable, with the remaining 29 samples still pending analysis, the regulator has confirmed in an email to StratCann.
Such sampling of retention samples for further analysis are part of inspectors’ toolkits in instances where critical non-compliances are found during an inspection. Such inspections can typically look to verify records summarizing testing protocols, method validations, third-party testing facility attestations, established specifications and tolerance limits, as well as Certificates of Analysis (CoAs) to ensure the results provided in the CoAs are within the limits established by the licence holder.
Health Canada says they have not mandated any product recalls based on any of the sampling activities undertaken in 2020. There were at least seven public product recalls of cannabis in 2020, six for errors with labeling and one for a concern with the instability of THC levels in a beverage.
A representative for Health Canada also confirms that they did not conduct any inspections of analytical testing laboratories in 2020. Citing a risk-based approach in regard to protecting public health in regard to how they use their resources, labs were identified as not being a priority.
There has been growing complaints from consumers and industry over the validity and accuracy of results from analytical testing labs and licence producers, largely around the validity of cannabinoid levels.
In 2020 a group of patients took several licensed producers to court over what they say were inaccurate amounts of THC or CBD in various medical cannabis products compared to what was on the label, and more recently one licensed producer has called out another for questionable THC levels on some of their dried flower.
However, in terms of public health, such variances in cannabinoid levels is likely seen by the regulator as a relatively low risk compared to other issues such as the risk presented by biological impurities like various moulds or other bacterias. The fact none of the public recalls of product in 2020 were due to biological impurities potentially speaks to a greater level of enforcement on this end, as opposed to inaccurate or misleading cannabinoid levels, such as inflated THC levels. And none were in relation to edible cannabis products with inaccurate cannabinoids.
There were at least four public recalls of cannabis oils in 2019 for inaccurate cannabinoid levels. There have been two recent recalls this year of cannabis edibles (gummies) due to the presence of mould.
Such recalls would be based on either customer or supply chain complaint, or the licence holder or inspector discovering the problem. Inspections of labs would be a secondary step beyond testing of the end product. However, a more consistent testing standard could allow consumers to have greater trust in the advertised THC and CBD and even terpene levels in their dried flower.
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