Seized edibles spark up trade show

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This article was published 22/02/2019 (2141 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Officials seized illegal edible marijuana products at the HempFest Cannabis Expo Saturday, taking the buzz off one entrepreneur’s attempt at “pushing the boundaries.”

Blair, who declined to give his last name, received a $2,542 ticket from LGCA for “unauthorized sale of cannabis.” As two staff from the Liquor, Cannabis and Gaming Authority of Manitoba seized packages of cannabis-infused gummies from his booth and placed them into evidence bags, Blair explained what happened.

“They warned us that there wasn’t to be any THC sold, and being somebody that’s been part of pushing the boundaries that’s helped bring cannabis to legalization, I continued to push,” he said.

“We had them hidden, but not hidden well enough.”

Blair said his company is trying to get licensed by Health Canada to sell cannabis and he’s worried the ticket might affect his ability to get a security clearance.

“I don’t feel great, that’s for sure,” he said.

“I guess I’m glad that it’s a ticket, and not handcuffs. That’s sort of progress.”

The seized gummies from Blair’s booth contained both cannabidiol (CBD), a non-intoxicating chemical compound produced by the cannabis plant, and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), another cannabis-derived compound that gets users high. Both chemical compounds are controlled substances that require a government licence to legally produce and sell.

“While it is non-intoxicating, CBD still does have an effect on the body and brain,” wrote Health Canada spokesman Eric Morrissette in a statement.

“Health Canada has taken a precautionary approach to the regulation of cannabis as there are still questions around its long-term effects of its use.”

Many HempFest Cannabis Expo exhibitors on Saturday afternoon seemed to have no trouble selling products that contained CBD but no THC.

Mathew Monasterski, director and CEO of Cannafam, said he spoke to the LGCA staff about the wide variety of CBD products he was selling. He said the officials told him they weren’t prioritizing the regulation of non-intoxicating, CBD-only products without THC. (The LGCA staff at the expo said they weren’t authorized to speak to the media, and LGCA did not provide further comment on Saturday.)

“It has 0.01 per cent THC content or less,” said Monasterski, describing the CBD tinctures, vape pens, teas, lip balms, oral sprays and bath balms he was selling.

“So why is that something that they would want to control?”

Monasterski said the CBD in his products was derived from hemp, a variety of cannabis that’s bred to contain almost no THC. He doesn’t believe hemp-derived CBD should fall under the same legal restrictions as other cannabis products, but was still aware that there could be legal consequences for selling it.

“But the thing is, there’s a lot of senior citizens out there that need this product, and those (licensed) stores do not have it,” he said.

“So what are they supposed to do? Go back on their opiates? Go die? That’s unacceptable for me.”

HempFest Cannabis Expo founder and CEO Sacha Hockenhull said LGCA officials arrived on the scene at the RBC Convention Centre even before the expo opened at 1:00 on Saturday. The LGCA spoke with vendors about which products were and weren’t acceptable to sell, he said.

“We’re actually all confused, a little, and everybody’s kind of asking the same question and trying to get to the bottom of what is OK and what’s not,” he said, adding that the expo’s policy was to do whatever provincial regulators asked.

Mark O., who did not provide his full last name, was selling vaporizer cartridges full of CBD cannabis oil at the expo under the “Kush Oil” brand name. Mark conceded that the products weren’t licensed by Health Canada, and that selling them violated the Cannabis Act.

Still, he said his customers needed the cartridges, pointing out that Health Canada still hasn’t passed the regulations that will allow people to purchase vaporizable cannabis oils.

“So there is a need for it. THC is one thing, but when you’re looking at the medicinal side… we’ve got lots of customers all across Canada who depend on us,” he said.

Mark said he was aware of the potential legal consequences for selling unauthorized cannabis products.

“We’d like to be doing this legally,” he said.

“We’ve filed all the applications, paid all the fees. And now we’re just waiting. If you give us a licence, we’ll gladly do this legally.”

Thaddeus Conrad, founder and president of Med-Man Brand, said LGCA officials ticketed him Saturday for selling products that he wasn’t actually selling. The products were for the personal medical use of himself and his booth staff, Conrad said.

“They found a bunch of products that I’m licensed to hold, and every single volunteer and every single one of my staff were actually allowed to have there. And they literally confiscated it all.”

Conrad plans to contest the ticket in court.

solomon.israel@freepress.mb.ca  

@sol_israel