New Resource on Edible Cannabis Products, Cannabis Extracts and Cannabis Topicals

With edible cannabis products, cannabis extracts and cannabis topicals now available for legal purchase, Canadians have even more access to a variety of products and methods for consuming cannabis. While these products appear, smell and taste differently from dried cannabis, “cannabis is cannabis” and the short- and long-term health effects of consuming it in any form should not be underestimated.

Clearing the Smoke on Cannabis: Edible Cannabis Products, Cannabis Extracts and Cannabis Topicals, produced by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA), summarizes the available research on these products and information Canadians should know about them.

Report highlights include:

• There are unique health risks linked to edible cannabis products, cannabis extracts and cannabis topicals.
• High-potency cannabis extracts (60% THC or greater) increase the risk of cannabis poisoning. Sometimes known as concentrates, regular use of these products increases the risk of dependence, cannabis use disorder and mental health disturbance, over and above those attributable to dried cannabis.
• Due to the long delay in the onset of their psychoactive effects, edible cannabis products increase the risk of over-consumption and subsequent over-intoxication.
• Research on cannabis topicals, including the use of topical and transdermal CBD products, is limited. There is, however, growing interest among dermatologists and consumers in them.
• The health impacts associated with long-term use of edible cannabis products, cannabis extracts and cannabis topicals are not known at this time.

Due to the importance of the issues it addresses, CCSA has added this report to our highly popular Clearing the Smoke on Cannabis series. We encourage you to share this useful resource with your professional networks, friends and family.

If you have any questions about CCSA’s cannabis resources or want to know more about our work on cannabis, please email cannabis@ccsa.ca.