Canada produces more cannabis than it can consume. The result: hundreds of thousands of kilos of grass are destroyed – with manure and cat litter.
Canada is one of the largest cannabis producers in the world. The hemp industry in the North American country has been growing grass for years. It flows into the domestic market, but also into exports to countries like Germany. Because the hemp plant is very productive and many players grow it, no Canada has a problem: There is simply too much cannabis in the country. That is why grass has to be destroyed regularly.
“The destruction of cannabis is part of normal business”
Upon request from IPPEN.MEDIA The Canadian health authority gives concrete figures. In 2023, it was 460 tons of dried cannabis, or 460,000 kilograms. If one assumes that one gram makes about three joints, Canada has apparently destroyed enough cannabis for 1.4 billion joints. At least in theory. Because not everything that is thrown away would have been usable.
Reasons for the destruction include crop losses and the “disposal of unusable plant material”. This refers to the stems, for example, which have a significantly lower content of the active ingredient in hemp, THC, than the flowers. There is also a large proportion of “unsold or returned products”. The authorities cannot say exactly how large this proportion is.
Just this much: The proportion of cannabis destroyed has been high for years. A year ago it was 611 tons and in 2021 it was 425 tons. The amount is considerable and corresponds to eleven to 25 percent of the total unpackaged production. Canada therefore throws away up to a quarter of its grass production. “The destruction of cannabis is part of normal business in the licensed cannabis industry,” explains a spokeswoman for the authority. In addition to the destruction of “dried cannabis”, packaged cannabis is also destroyed. This includes so-called edibles, i.e. foods with hemp in them such as “hash cookies”.
With manure and cat litter: Destruction against “desperate smokers”
In order to grow cannabis for commercial use in Canada, you need a license. Every farmer and every licensed business must keep records of the amount of cannabis they produce. The amount of cannabis destroyed must also be reported to the health authority every month via a “Cannabis Tracking System”.
The destroyed grass is not burned. Otherwise, the rising smoke would have an intoxicating effect. According to Canadian federal regulations, the cannabis is to be “denatured” and rendered “harmless”. This is usually done by mixing in liquid manure or cat litter, for example. These somewhat unconventional methods are used “so that desperate smokers do not consume the destroyed grass and plants cannot reproduce,” as a spokeswoman for a cannabis company once told the TorontoStar said.
Half of the medical cannabis in Germany comes from Canada
Incidentally, some of the cannabis produced in Canada ends up in Germany. However, grass imported from Canada has so far only been used in the medical field in this country. A comprehensive recreational market like the one in Canada is currently not foreseeable in this country. Home cultivation is permitted, as is distribution via so-called cannabis clubs in the medium term. Canada legalized cannabis in 2018 and created a legal market.
In principle, medical cannabis can be imported from any country that has legalized the cultivation of cannabis for medical purposes. In the first quarter of 2024, around 20,000 kilos of grass, or 20 tons, came to Germany, the Federal Opium Agency said upon request. 11,000 kilos, or more than half of that, came from Canada. (as)
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