CHFA’s Position: Cannabis and CBD

Today, a notice was sent to members of a letter that was prepared by the Canadian Health Food Association (CHFA) and submitted to the Minister of Health on July 28 highlighting the concerns of adding Phytocannabinoids (CBD) to the prescription drug list as Health Canada filed a notice of intent (click here) on June 27. The position of CHFA regarding Cannabis and CBD is as follows:

Access to recreational cannabis should not be more liberal than access to cannabis products that can improve the health of Canadians.
We believe that by not reconciling the existing medical access with health products in parallel with the introduction of recreational cannabis, that the government has introduced unintended risks to those Canadians seeking benefits from cannabis products.

Canadians want the same direct access to cannabidiol (CBD) products as can be found in the United States. By making CBD a prescription drug and preventing it from being used in Natural Health Products (NHPs), the Canadian government is driving Canadians to buy American products, seek products from dispensaries or other illegitimate retail outlets, or to experiment with recreational cannabis that lacks health product labelling and unnecessarily exposes them to THC.

Not all Canadians want to get high.

Our industry and Canadian consumers should not have to wait for legitimate CBD-based NHPs to become available in Canada.
CBD has considerable therapeutic value similar to other natural health products and should be positioned as such, not as a prescription drug. We encourage you to make your voice be heard through various media outlets and trade associations that CBD be categorized as a Natural Health Product on October 17.

Quality Smart Solutions and its division, Cannabis License Experts, will be attending CHFA East in Toronto September 13 to 16. Contact us today to meet with one of our Cannabis, NHP and Food regulatory and safety experts at the conference on September 13 and 14 and at the tradeshow on September 15 and 16. We are happy to answer your questions about Cannabis product license, license to cultivate, produce, sell , test or research cannabis and food safety plan for edibles.