Canada: B.C. Medical Marijuana Company To Make Hemp Treats For Pets

Jacob Redmond

Well-Known Member
A B.C. medical marijuana company will begin producing hemp treats for pets as it waits for a licence to sell medical marijuana under Health Canada's rules.

True Leaf Medicine International announced Wednesday that it signed an agreement with hemp-based treats for pets company Wodema Industries to produce any of the Kelowna-based Wodema's treats that include hemp, cannabis or its derivatives.

This doesn't mean Fido and Fluffy will be getting high, True Leaf CEO Darcy Bomford explained.

"It's not pot for pets... it's completely non psychoactive," Bomford said of the treats. "Hemp actually is highest natural source of omega-3. That's the primary function of hemp in this initial pet supplement."

Eventually Bomford wants to develop a CBD (a non-psychoactive component of cannabis) treatment as a natural alternative to help older pets with joint pain, although he expects that to take at least three years to ensure there is approval from veterinarians.

True Leaf decided to get into the hemp pet treats business after a prolonged wait for approval to become a licensed producer under Canada's new Marijuana for Medicinal Purposes Regulations (MMPR).

The company originally applied in 2013, but was asked to change locations in April 2014 and is still waiting for approval at its facility in Lumby, B.C. True Leaf has been through eight government reviews in the past 12 months, Bomford said.

"We're getting close, but Health Canada is pretty slow and we don't know where we're at with them," he said. He blames the delay on the court case surrounding the MMPR system. (It's being challenged as unconstitutional because it forbids patients from growing their own medicine.)

So far, 17 medical marijuana producers have been granted approval under Health Canada's new rules that allow private producers to sell their product to patients online. The industry has been a boon for Nanaimo, B.C., where the mayor estimated the economic output of producer Tilray will soon reach $85 million.

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Full Article: B.C. medical marijuana company to make hemp treats for pets | Metro
Author: Emily Jackson
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Photo Credit: True Leaf
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