Responding to concerns about edible cannabis products from the province’s Cannabis Vigilance Committee, the Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC) says they will continue to take a cautious approach to edible cannabis products. 

The province’s cannabis regulator and retailer say they also plan to add a few new cannabis edible products in the future. 

The response from the SQDC comes following the release of a report from the Cannabis Vigilance Committee (Comité de vigilance sur la cannabis) last June.

The report called for an analysis to be carried out in order to better understand the consumption behaviour of cannabis consumers and to inform the population of the risks associated with the use of food products containing cannabis.

This is following the SQDC’s introduction of edibles in Spring 2022, so-called cannabis bites, made of dates, hemp hearts, sunflower seeds, currants, and cinnamon. Although Quebec does not allow the sale of edibles such as candies, desserts, chocolates, or other products deemed as being appealing to those under the age of 21—the legal age of access in Quebec—the cannabis bites do not fall within these categories. 

The province also allows the sale of cannabis beverages.

The Cannabis Vigilance Committee’s report also called on the SQDC to provide information to the public about the risk posed by cannabis edibles. The SQDC’s response today notes that they have always provided this information, and intend to continue to do so. 

“In accordance with the Cannabis Regulation Act, the SQDC has been distributing edible products in the form of drinks since 2020, as well as some solid edible products since the spring of 2022,” notes the SQDC press release (translated). “These edible products have nothing comparable to those offered in other less restrictive provinces, which notably allow the sale of sweets or chocolate, for example. The demand for these products existed before legalization, and they are already widely consumed by consumers sourcing from illegal and uncontrolled sources.”

In June the President and CEO of the SQDC, Jacques Farcy, told StratCann that the agency is looking to work with industry to help identify new products that can fit within the province’s strict regulations.