Beijing asks Canada to help stem flow of illicit marijuana to China
Until now there has been little or no public hint of Beijing pointing a finger at Canada over illegal drugs
Monday, April 30, 2018
Chinese officials have been quietly grilling Canada about illicit marijuana flowing to their country, prompting Ottawa to agree to work with them on the problem, an internal federal memo reveals. The previously unknown issue arose during talks between the two countries on curbing the clandestine importation of opioids into Canada, which has fuelled a crisis of overdose deaths from fentanyl and related compounds. An April 2017 meeting of deputy ministers “determined that China is concerned about what Canada is doing to stem the flow of illicit cannabis into China and we will be working with them on this issue,” says the federal memo released under the Access to Information Act. (See also: Man charged over HK$16 million worth of cannabis plants in Hong Kong village house)