Health Canada is forming a committee of scientists to help it navigate the emerging world of non-prescription health products containing weed.
The Science Advisory Committee for Health Products Containing Cannabis will provide independent scientific and evidence-based advice as Health Canada works out safety and evidence standards for these new products, the department announced Thursday.
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This will include reviewing evidence of how weed can be used as a health product, reviewing emerging clinical studies and suggesting safety standards for health products, such as dosage, quality and efficacy.
Health Canada is also creating a sub-committee to address issues related to cannabis products for animals.
The department is seeking eight to 12 committee members form a wide range of knowledge and experience, including Canadians with lived experience as medical cannabis patients.
Committee members can be nominated by others or themselves and will be selected by federal government staff.
Issues the committee might be asked to tackle include using THC or CBD for therapeutic purposes, how to tackle gaps in a doctor’s knowledge about cannabis and what harms using THC or CBD could pose when being used without a doctor’s advice.
The idea to form a committee was created during Health Canada’s consultations, which ran from June 19, 2019, to Sept. 3, 2019, in which the department asked how it should approach regulating non-prescription health products.
Top image of the Peace Tower in Ottawa via Deposit Photos
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