Standing Committee on Health HESA Ï NUMBER 068 Ï 1st SESSION Ï 42nd PARLIAMENT EVIDENCE Friday, September 15, 2017 Chair Mr. Bill Casey 1 Standing Committee on Health Friday, September 15, 2017 The Chair: We'll have some questions for you; don't worry. Ï (0835) Now we'll go to Dr. Daniel Vigil, manager of marijuana health [English] monitoring and research at the Colorado Department of Public The Chair (Mr. Bill Casey (Cumberland—Colchester, Lib.)): Health and Environment. Thank you for being here. We're bringing meeting number 68 of the Standing Committee on Health to order. We're studying Bill C-45, and our panel this morning Dr. Daniel Vigil (Manager, Marijuana Health Monitoring and will focus on edible products. Research, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment): Thank you, Mr. Chairman, committee. I also don't While I have a minute, I want to tell the committee—and I've been have an extensive opening statement. I'd be happy to answer any on a lot of committees—and yesterday was 12 hours straight. questions that you have. I'll just say a few brief things. Nobody lost their focus, nobody lost their interest, everybody was paying attention, and I thought through this week that all members of Concerning edibles, as opposed to smokable forms of marijuana, the committee have done a really good job of asking the right we have recognized a few different concerns that we think are questions and bringing the right issues up. I'm really pleased and important to address in policy. One is accidental exposure, either by proud to be part of this committee. I just wanted to say that this children or by individuals who aren't aware that the product in front morning. I was thinking about it last night. In an awful lot of of them may have THC in it. The second is over-consumption, committees, people are not focused, and they lose interest at some primarily by naive users who aren't familiar with the delayed effects point, but nobody has lost interest at all through this whole session, of edible products. Then there are various concerns of contamination and it's been quite a marathon. I thank you all for doing that. It's been with microbials, residual solvents, or pesticides that perhaps could be quite a week, and we're not done yet. We have edibles this morning. concentrated in edible products. To start our panel on edible products, we have three witnesses this morning. Dr. Ryan Vandrey by video conference from Maryland. Concerning accidental exposure, packaging, and.... The product He's an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University. From the forms are very important to not to appeal to children. Childproof Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, we have packaging is very important. Labelling is also important, both on the Dr. Daniel Vigil, manager of marijuana health monitoring and product and the package, to make people aware that it's not, for research. From Sensible BC, we have Mr. Dana Larsen, director. example, a standard candy bar, that there's something different about it. For various potential contamination, good laboratory regulations We're going to ask each one of you to make a statement that's a are very important. I have plenty of information about some of the maximum of 10 minutes long. Then when we're done the three data we've seen etc., and again, I'd be happy to answer any questions opening statements, we'll ask questions for the next little while. We'll that you have. start with Dr. Vandrey to make a 10 minute introduction. Professor Ryan Vandrey (Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins Ï (0840) University, As an Individual): I probably don't have 10 minutes here, but I'll give you the brief version. I'm a human cannabinoid The Chair: Thank you very much. researcher at Johns Hopkins. I've been doing cannabis research for 17 years now. Recently I've been focused on evaluating the dose These are the shortest opening statements we've ever had. effects of cannabis, their different routes of administration, including oral or edible cannabis products. We look at the pharmacokinetics For Sensible BC, we move to Mr. Larsen. and pharmacodynamic effects of cannabis through this route of administration. We've also done some product testing research, in Mr. Dana Larsen (Director, Sensible BC): Thank you very which we evaluate the label accuracy of edible products sold in much. I'll take my full 10 minutes. dispensaries in the U.S. The Chair: All right thank you very much. We appreciate that. Is Thanks for having me at this committee. I've been a cannabis that everything you want to say in your opening statement? activist for all of my adult life. I run a cannabis dispensary, and I've Prof. Ryan Vandrey: That's it. probably sold more cannabis than all the other witnesses combined. 2 HESA-68 September 15, 2017 It's good to be here today, but I have my doubts that this going to have the range of products that are really available and committee will actually act upon the evidence being brought before necessary. them in the testimony they're hearing. I say that because I have been at this a long time. When I first got started as a cannabis activist in As an activist who wants to see better drug laws in Canada, I don't the 1990s, the government was introducing the Controlled Drugs and like this at all, but as a business owner, it's great. This is going to Substances Act to replace the Narcotic Control Act. At that time, keep me and other dispensaries in business for many years to come. there was a great deal of testimony and hearings, and about two This will do nothing at all to shut down dispensaries or affect the dozen groups came forward who said that prohibition was a failure, black market. the war on drugs was a failure, we should legalize, end prohibition, and approach things differently. The only groups that supported that We had a pretty major court case, the Owen Smith case, and Kirk legislation were the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and Tousaw, who spoke yesterday, was the lead lawyer on that case. The the Canadian pharmaceutical association. Everyone else was against courts ruled that medical patients have a right to access not only it. smokable buds but cannabis in all these other forms as extracts. The government said it would pass this law and have a drug policy Health Canada's response was to allow licensed producers to make review afterwards. That review never happened. Canada's Senate cannabis extracts with no more than 3% THC, which is a complete took it upon itself, and it issued a comprehensive and detailed report disregard of both the letter and the spirit of that court decision. It's on cannabis in 2002, a five-volume report that probably remains one not surprising, because that has been the attitude of the government of the best analyses of cannabis and cannabis policy today. That and Health Canada for years. Every time we get a court ruling report was also completely ignored. I encourage committee members against...to expand the cannabis access, the government and Health to take a look at that Senate report from 2002 because it is an Canada take the most restrictive possible interpretation of that incredible document. It recommended legalization of cannabis for all decision. Canadians over the age of 16. These were Conservative senators, not a bunch of pot smokers, and they recommended legalization for The result of this is that the government has lost control over everyone over the age of 16. That was ignored. cannabis, and it has lost control for many years now. We've been systematically dismantling Canada's cannabis laws for the last 20 The year I was born, 1971, the Le Dain commission recom- years, beginning with the laws against bongs, vaporizers, and pipes, mended decriminalizing cannabis possession and cultivation and which are still on the books under section 462.2. That law has never working toward legalization. That was also ignored. For all my life, been removed, and yet it would be hard to find a city that doesn't I've seen our government listen to testimony, do research, have have multiple bong shops in it today. We did that in the 1990s by studies, talk to people, and then ignore the results. I hope that doesn't simply defying the law and opening up bong shops. There were raids happen here today. and conflict, kind of like now with dispensaries. After time, police and communities realized that the war on bongs was a failure, that The cannabis act is a bad piece of legislation. It is flawed in a nobody wanted to see it happen, and they gave up. As a result, we great many ways. It doesn't even decriminalize the joint that I have have effectively legalized bongs and pipes, seed banks, vapour in my pocket now, which I'm going to smoke after this committee lounges, and we're on the way to doing it with dispensaries as well. hearing. The idea that we're going to have licit and illicit cannabis In many cities, we already have. and that we're going to have the police trying to decide which cannabis is good and which is not good is simply not going to work. Ï (0845) In cities like Vancouver, where it's already effectively decrimina- We're not, then, going to follow these laws.