Medical marjuana users are accusing the federal government of violating their privacy and jeopardizing their safety after Health Canada sent out letters in envelopes that outed them as medical marijuana users.

Health Canada sent the letters to approximately 40,000 people across the country to inform them of changes to the program. Previous correspondence about the program came in plain brown envelopes and was sent by registered mail. The letters of concern clearly contained the words “Medical Marijuana Access Program” next to the users name and address or the envelope.

It is felt by many that the breach certainly exposes patients to the risk of home invasions as well as violence, humiliation and stereotyping as there is a risk that  their letter carrier and neighbours have seen the label and thus know about one’s medical conditions and usage of pot.

George Da Pont, the deputy minister at Health Canada, issued an apology on the Health Canada website and called it an administrative error. “I have been advised that as the result of an administrative error, the envelopes were labelled to indicate that they were sent by the program. This is not standard Health Canada practice,” he wrote. “On behalf of Health Canada, I deeply regret this administrative error. Health Canada is taking steps to ensure this does not happen again.”

Da Pont said the department was “in discussion” with the office of the privacy commissioner about the incident. A spokeswoman for the privacy commissioner, meanwhile, told CBC News it wasn’t Health Canada that told them about the breach. “We were made aware of it by a number of concerned individuals who contacted our office. We have since received complaints and we will be investigating this matter”.

A law firm has now filed a class-action lawsuit against the federal government over the privacy breach. If a judge certifies the suit, all 40,000 Canadians who received the envelopes would be eligible to be part of it.