The license agreement comes after a radical change in the positions of the Canadian state, which is seeking to deal with a serious crisis of opiate overdoses which has claimed thousands of lives, by decriminalizing the possession of small quantities of cocaine, heroin and other so-called hard drugs.
Objective: fight against the stigma associated with the use of narcotics
Ottawa granted a waiver of the Criminal Code, Canada’s penal code, in January to the province of British Columbia (west), for a three-year pilot project. The objective: to fight against the stigma associated with the use of narcotics which prevents some from seeking help.
Advocates for the measure are also calling for a safer supply of drugs to be available for people with addictions. They face an increased risk of overdose linked to drugs bought illegally on the street.
Authorization to possess, produce, sell and distribute ecstasy and heroin
In a statement, Sunshine Earth Labs said it has received permission from Health Canada to “legally possess, produce, sell, and distribute coca leaf and cocaine”, as well as morphine, ecstasy, and the heroine. A similar licensing deal was offered in February to another company Adastra Labs, which until then had only made products related to cannabis extracts. Adastra’s license also authorizes it to produce psilocybin and psilocin, hallucinogens more commonly associated with mushrooms whose consumption produces effects similar to LSD.
“We will assess how the commercialization of this substance fits into our business model at Adastra, in order to position ourselves to support the demand for a safe supply of cocaine,” said its boss Michael Forbes.
British Columbia follows the US state of Oregon (northwest) which decriminalized so-called hard drugs in November 2020. The province is the epicenter of a crisis which has seen more than 10,000 people die of overdoses since a public health emergency was declared in 2016 — accounting for around six daily deaths, out of a population of some five million.