Canadians not told about banned pesticide found in medical pot supply
A controversial pesticide banned in Canada has been discovered in products sold by a federally licensed medical marijuana producer , The Globe and Mail has learned , but neither the company nor Health Canada have informed the public .
Myclobutanil , a chemical that is also prohibited for use on legal cannabis in Colorado , Washington and Oregon because of health concerns , was found in product recently recalled by Mettrum Ltd ., a Torontobased medical marijuana company . The pesticide is not approved for use on plants that are combusted , such as tobacco or cannabis , and is known to emit hydrogen cyanide when heated . Lawmakers in the three U . S . states moved quickly to ban myclobutanil , in some cases enacting emergency legislation when they discovered growers using it .
But the lack of public disclosure by Health Canada raises new questions about what controls are in place to ensure the product is free of contaminants and chemicals , particularly as the government prepares to introduce legislation to legalise the drug next year .
A Globe investigation this summer called into question the department ' s ability to detect potentially dangerous contaminants , and revealed that Health Canada standards at the time did not require testing for myclobutanil and other banned chemicals .
The Mettrum discovery was made recently , when a random screening of the company ' s products by Health Canada turned up the unauthorized use of pyrethrin , a pesticide derived from the chrysanthemum plant that is also not approved for medical cannabis .
Mettrum issued a voluntary recall of the affected products on Nov . 1 and said the pyrethrin was used by mistake , because it was not listed on the ingredients of a spray the company was using .
But when Health Canada performed further tests on the samples , it also discovered they contained myclobutanil , which all producers know is a banned substance . However , for reasons that are not immediately clear , neither Health Canada nor Mettrum announced the findings to the public . Instead , on Dec . 1 , Mettrum issued a vague press release saying that " as a result of further testing and working with the full co-operation of Health Canada ," the company was adding " a small number of additional product lots " to its previous voluntary recall . The company made no mention of myclobutanil .
It was only after The Globe was informed of automated phone messages Mettrum left with some of its customers , which made passing reference to myclobutanil during a lengthy recording , that a reporter called the company ' s customer service line to inquire .
A Mettrum employee said the recall was due to a " nutrient spray " that mistakenly contained pyrethrin . " We just want to be transparent ," he said .
However , it was only after the employee was asked specifically if the recall also involved myclobutanil that he acknowledged the more controversial chemical had been found . " Yes , that was also included as well ," the Mettrum employee said .
When Mettrum was later asked why the company hasn ' t acknowledged the discovery of the banned pesticide in a press release , the company said in a statement to The Globe that its plan to communicate only with customers was approved by Health Canada . The company said only " trace levels of myclobutanil " were found .