B.C. premier ‘astonished’ as Langley company approved to make and sell cocaine

VICTORIA — B.C. Premier David Eby said he’s astonished that the federal Health Department gave the green light to a Langley cannabis company to produce, sell, and distribute cocaine.

Adastra Holdings, a Langley-based cannabis company, received approval from Health Canada on Feb. 17 to “interact with” up to 250 grams of cocaine and to import coca leaves to manufacture and synthesize the substance. The company’s CEO said in a Feb. 22 press release it will explore the “commercialization” of cocaine to provide a safe supply of the drug.

That prompted outrage from B.C. Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon, who asked the premier in question period: “What on earth is going on here?”

Eby was not in the legislature, appearing in Vancouver for an announcement about mental health and addictions. When asked by a reporter about the approval, Eby slammed Health Canada for not consulting B.C. before granting the company approval to produce cocaine.