Laboratory testing should be available to all medical patients and consumers in the country, says the Cannabis Growers of Canada.
The advocacy group wants Health Canada to stop treating individuals and labs as criminals for wanting to know what’s in their product.
Cannabis Growers of Canada founder and president Chad Jackett said labs have been putting themselves at risk for some time in efforts to help patients ensure the quality of their medicine and that a lab he’s worked with in the past decided to shut its doors after being threatened with civil forfeitures by Health Canada.
“Canadians should be extremely concerned with government officials and beauracrats within Health Canada threatening labs that are trying to do the best job they can to ensure Canadians have the best cannabis possible,” Jackett said. “Everyone in the country should know the quality of their cannabis, whatever size the producer.”
The CGC, in their fight for the rights of small cannabis growers, believe that lab testing is a vital part of the fight to open the cannabis market.
“We, the small farmers that built the industry, have the very best quality cannabis standards in the world,” said Jackett. “We should not tolerate beuracrats threatening our labs that are providing the best testing available.”
Cannabis Growers of Canada outreach director Jaclynn Pehota agreed with Jackett and said that all Canadians should have a right to test what goes into their bodies.
“If I went to a grocery store and bought a cookie and then wanted to confirm what was in that cookie, by submitting to a lab as a paying customer … I should be able to go and confirm what was in that product and I think that that should be the case for anything, regardless,” she said.
Pehota said smaller growers, as well as patients should be able to send in their cannabis, even if it’s coming from a licensed producer source.
“I’m extremely offended and disgusted by the fact that Health Cannabis is threatening our labs to not allow MMPR patients to not double test their MMPR product,” said Jackett. “They should be able to know what’s coming from these producers and be able to test it for themselves if they so want to.”
The government’s new medical cannabis regulations will ease restrictions on testing for individuals, but smaller growers are still being left out and Pehota said there’s no indication if the Liberals will continue to allow patients this resource when legalization is put through, next year.