- Pure Extracts will be applying for a dealer’s licence under Canada’s Controlled Drugs and Substances Act which will allow the company to undertake extraction research and development of psychedelic compounds.
- Companies that wish to undertake various activities with controlled substances in Canada are required to obtain a dealer’s licence from Health Canada.
- Pure Extracts has engaged a consultancy firm to provide advice to the company on its application.
Plant-based extraction company Pure Extracts has announced its intention to apply to Health Canada for a dealer’s licence under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA). In a press release on December 10, the company revealed it had procured the services of an unspecified operations, compliance, and regulatory consulting firm to advise the company on its application. The company has said it intends to work with partners such as doctors, pharmaceutical companies, and pharmacies as Canada moves towards the legalization of psychedelics, once it has the authorization to perform extraction research and development into psychedelic compounds.
In the release, Pure Extracts chief executive Ben Nikolaevsky said “having the support of one of Canada’s premiere consulting companies with subject matter proficiency in cannabis and other regulated consumer product industries assures that we will submit a fully-compliant dealers licence application to Health Canada in the shortest time possible.” “As a plant-based extractor bringing functional mushroom products to market in Q1 2021, we are very excited to be laying the groundwork for our move into the controlled substances world of psychedelics,” Nikolaevsky said.
What is a Dealer’s Licence?
Under the CDSA, Health Canada is responsible for licensing legal access to controlled substances, including their production, distribution, and sale. A dealer’s licence outlines the activities, conditions, and restrictions the licence holder must obey, and licence holders are also required to comply with the CDSA and other applicable federal, provincial, and territorial laws, in addition to municipal by-laws. A licence could allow a company to procure controlled substances, research and manufacture controlled substances, the business-to-business sale of controlled substances, and the sale of controlled substances by pharmacies.
In applying for a dealer’s licence, Pure Extracts joins other Canadian psychedelics companies Numinus Wellness and Havn Life Sciences who have both also applied for licences under the CDSA. In June 2020 Numinus Wellness was approved to amend its existing licence to research the extraction of psilocybin from mushrooms, whearas Havn Life Science is awaiting approval of its application which would allow it to sell psilocybin and psilocin to universities, researchers, and companies.
