Thousands of cannabis products are being pulled off the shelves across Canada over intoxication concerns arising from labelling errors — and some adverse reactions have been reported.
In an update on Friday, Health Canada added two brands and eight new lots of cannabis extract oils and softgels to its earlier recall alert from June.
The recall now impacting 14 lots includes iNaturally Organic Inc’s Emprise CBN+CBD 50 mg softgels, NuLeaf Naturals 1800 mg full spectrum hemp multicannabinoid oil and oil softgels, Ultra Plus 1200 mg multicannabinoid oil and Ultra Plus 750 mg multicannabinoid softgels.
In total, more than 17,000 units were sold through authorized retailers in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Yukon from December 2022 to July 2024.
The affected products were also sold to medical clients through Rosebud Productions Inc. (Herbal Dispatch), Open Fields Winnipeg, Open Fields Saskatchewan and Médicibis, according to Health Canada.
There have been some reports of adverse reactions related to these cannabis products.
As of Aug. 9, iNaturally Organic Inc. had received two adverse reaction reports and Health Canada had received five adverse reaction reports as well as one complaint.
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Health Canada said it conducted an inspection of some cannabis products in question and test results showed that each sample contained a “significant quantity” of the intoxicating cannabinoid hexahydrocannabinol (HHC), and of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in products identified as containing less than three milligrams per unit for softgels or gram for oils.
“The products contain HHC and THC in quantities that could be intoxicating,” the agency said.
“As labeled, consumers of these products cannot make informed decisions regarding their cannabis use.”
Canadians are being urged to “immediately stop” using the recalled products and return or dispose of them.
Accidentally consuming THC and HHC or consuming high amounts can lead to cannabis poisoning, which can be “very unpleasant and potentially dangerous,” Health Canada warned.
In some cases, it may require hospitalization.
Symptoms of cannabis poisoning include chest pain, rapid heartbeat, nausea, vomiting, psychotic episodes, respiratory depression, severe anxiety and panic attack, according to Health Canada.