Canada: Over 400 tonnes of legally produced cannabis destroyed due to overproduction

More than 400 tonnes of cannabis destined for market and recreational use in Canada were destroyed in 2021, advance to MJBizDaily. Production greatly exceeds sales and several tons of legally produced cannabis do not even enter the commercial circuit. MJBizDaily cites data from Health Canada, the country's health regulator, which states that more than 400 tons of cannabis and 7 million units of packaged cannabis products were destroyed in 2021. of cannabis sold.

These are overwhelming numbers and demonstrate one of the difficulties that the Canadian recreational market is currently facing, where the scale of production installed – and the inability to dispose of all the raw material produced – has led to huge amounts of cannabis being destroyed.

More than 400 tonnes of raw cannabis, still unpacked, were destined for destruction as they were not placed on the market. Cumulatively, and counting on the products already packaged destined for destruction, also because they have not been sold, it is estimated that the number already exceeds one billion grams. The MjBizDaily investigation compared the quantities of cannabis sold with the quantities destroyed, noting that this year saw a record, where cannabis destroyed exceeded the quantity of cannabis sold.

Canadian legislation requires licensed producers to produce their cannabis productions and market with authorized operators. However, in the event of not being commercialized, these products will necessarily be destroyed.