Illegal cannabis found growing in Pelham greenhouse

Health Canada has put a hold on more than five tons of dried cannabis after discovering an illegal growing operation at a licensed greenhouse in Pelham.

News of the discovery sent shares in Canntrust tumbling and has left hundreds of jobs in jeopardy.

The licensed producer says they were notified by Health Canada that it found Canntrust grew cannabis in five unlicensed rooms at its Pelham operation during an unannounced inspection.

Health Canada says cannabis was grown inside the unlicensed rooms from October 2018 to March 2019. The rooms licenses weren’t approved until April.

The agency adds that employees provided inaccurate information to federal regulators.

Health Canada says it needs to complete its investigation before determining what enforcement it will take. The company could face a $1-million fine or risk losing its production license.

Pelham’s mayor says hundreds of people from Niagara Region work at this facility. With $70 million worth of pot supplied for both recreational and medical users on hold, questions have been raised about supply to pot shops that are high in demand.

The owner of Niagara Herbalist says Canntrust is just one of many producers that supply products for their store. Some customers in Hamilton voiced concerns about supply-demand and fear prices go up.

Late Tuesday afternoon, Canntrust told CHCH News it accepts Health Canada’s findings and is preparing a full report for the federal agency. They say operations are continuing in Pelham as the facility remains fully licensed, adding they have implemented a company-wide re-training program and brought in independent experts to find out how this happened in order to make updates to procedures.