Labeling error leads to recall of medical marijuana in Canada

A licensed producer of medical marijuana that issued a voluntarily recall says more than 70% of the product has been returned.

Aurora Cannabis – based in Alberta and traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ACB – issued the recall last week for for 1.9 kg of dried marijuana because of a labeling mistake.

The THC identified on labels was higher than the concentration present in the product, an error Executive Vice President Cam Battley attributed to an IT bug, which he says the company has since fixed.

The products contained a THC value of 16.2% instead of 8.17%, and a CBD value of 0.05% instead of 5.91%, according to the recall notice posted on Health Canada’s website.

Health Canada and Aurora said no reports of adverse reactions have been received.

“The fact that it’s a small amount of product doesn’t mean we’re not taking this seriously. We don’t want to even have a small recall,” said Battley.

Customers were given a full credit.

What you need to know:

• The product was valued under 20,000 Canadian dollars ($15,700).
• It’s a Type II recall, meaning exposure to affected products may cause temporary adverse health consequences, or the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.
• It’s the industry’s eighth medical marijuana recall of the year.
• Amid calls for stricter product testing standards, Health Canada started unannounced inspections at licensed cannabis cultivators in February to ensure that only registered pesticides are used.