CannTrust to destroy CA$77 million in cannabis plants, inventory

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Embattled CannTrust Holdings on Monday disclosed it plans to destroy 77 million Canadian dollars ($58.2 million) worth of cannabis plants and inventory as part of the Ontario company’s efforts to regain its suspended business licenses.

The company said in a news release its board “has determined that it is necessary to destroy approximately CA$12 million of biological assets and approximately CA$65 million worth of inventory that was not authorized by CannTrust’s license.”

The inventory being destroyed includes product that was returned by patients, distributors and retailers.

“Given the status of its licenses, the company is unable to process the material being destroyed or sell it to other licensed producers,” the company said in the news release.

“The destruction process will allow the company to free up much-needed capacity to both implement remediation measures and store material that has been grown and processed in accordance with the company’s license since April 5, 2019.”

CannTrust has been under regulatory scrutiny since a whistleblower alerted Health Canada in July to unlicensed cultivation at the company’s facility in Pelham, Ontario.

Citing noncompliance with Canada’s federal cannabis law and regulations, CannTrust said in September it had received a Notice of License Suspension from Health Canada.

At the time, CannTrust said the action constituted a partial suspension of its license for standard cultivation and a full suspension of its licenses for standard processing, medical sales and research.

The company said Monday it will provide a detailed remediation plan to Health Canada on or before Oct. 21, 2019.