Bonify cannabis sales licence reinstated by Health Canada

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This article was published 23/10/2019 (2512 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg-based cannabis producer Bonify has had its federal sales licence reinstated, after a 2018 scandal in which the company obtained cannabis from an illegal source, then sold it on the legal market.

“Bonify has now fully addressed Health Canada’s compliance measures and undergone multiple Health Canada inspections,” the company said in a news release issued Wednesday.

“The company now plans to engage key stakeholders and government authorities as part of a measured approach to reintroduce its products into the marketplace.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, Health Canada’s website showed Bonify’s sales licence had been reinstated.

The licence was suspended in February, after a whistleblower notified Health Canada in 2018 that Bonify had brought in a large amount of unlicensed marijuana from outside of Manitoba and stored it in the company’s North End production facility. Some of the illegal cannabis was eventually sold at licensed cannabis stores in Saskatchewan. 

Three Bonify executives were terminated following the incident, and a member of the company’s board was suspended.

In an interview Wednesday, Bonify acting chief executive officer George Robinson said the company’s investigation into the incident never determined who actually grew and supplied the unlicensed cannabis.

Robinson said Bonify wants to return to the market “as quickly as possible.”

“We just have to put our heads down and reconnect to the industry itself. Today’s just a few hours in,” he said.

Bonify will have to requalify as a vendor to provincial cannabis distributors before it can sell product, Robinson added. “But it takes time. I mean, minimally, when you have to do the vendor qualification process, that’s kind of a few weeks to get that done.”

Bonify was allowed to continue growing cannabis during the licence suspension, Robinson said.

“We have a nice, full vault of product and material, so we’re very interested in moving that out to the marketplace in a measured fashion.”

Robinson declined to comment on the status of the Bonify executives who were fired and the board member who was suspended, citing pending litigation.

solomon.israel@theleafnews.com   

Twitter: @sol_israel