On Thursday, Canadian biosciences company Sunshine Earth Labs announced that it has been licensed to produce and sell cocaine, reflecting the federal health agency’s proposal to enhance safety conditions for the country’s addicts.
The permit comes after an extreme policy shift to handle an opioid overdose situation that has killed thousands, by decriminalizing short amounts of cocaine, heroin, and other hard drugs.
Canada granted a criminal principle exemption in January to British Columbia for the three-year pilot project, intending to remove the stigma associated with drug use that keeps people from seeking help.
Advocates have also been forcing safer stockpiles of drugs to be made available to addicts who face a risk of dying from toxic drug poisoning linked to illegal street drugs.
Sunshine Earth Labs said in a statement it received permission from Health Canada to “legally possess, produce, sell and distribute coca leaf and cocaine,” as well as morphine, MDMA (ecstasy), and heroin.
The announcement comes on the heels of a similar licensing arrangement offered in February to Adastra Labs, which had until now focused on crafting cannabis extracts. Adastra’s license also allows it to produce and sell psilocybin and psilocin — hallucinogens are more commonly known as magic mushrooms that produce effects similar to LSD.
We will evaluate how the commercialization of this substance fits in with our business model at Adastra in an effort to position ourselves to support the demand for a safe supply of cocaine.”
Michael Forbes chief executive said
British Columbia is only the second jurisdiction in North America to decriminalize hard drugs after the US state of Oregon did so in November 2020.
