OTTAWA'S BUNGLED GROW-OP LEAVES PATIENTS IN THE LURCH

We have long argued in favour of marijuana being made available to patients
who were so ill they had no appetite or could not keep food down, and were
thus not absorbing enough nutrients to regain their health.

But we were skeptical of the government's ability to run a successful
marijuana-growing operation, and it turns out we were right.

After having spent $5.7 million to convert an abandoned mine into a grow-op
to create "medicinal grade" dope, the government failed where any
run-of-the-mill pot head could have succeeded.

All you need are good seeds, water, nutrients and plenty of lights.
Thousands of secret illegal grow operations are succeeding all over the
country.

But the federal version not only produced grass that was unusable, the stuff
came more than six months late, and none of the 250 kilograms harvested has
even reached the patients it was intended for.

In addition, the federal government is paying Saskatoon-based Prairie Plant
Systems Inc. to grow 400 kilograms of marijuana each year for the next four
years.

Not only does that mean more waste of taxpayers' money, but if McLellan
officially declares that none of this grass will make its way to patients,
the company will continue growing an illegal substance for no good reason.
And the more than 800 patients who qualified to receive the drug won't be
able to get it because it remains against the law.

There really is no challenge in finding examples of government mismanagement
and bungling. Something seems to overtake otherwise intelligent bureaucrats
and politicians so that they eventually reach the point where they couldn't
organize a two-car funeral.

This disastrous pot grow-up would be another laughable example, except for
the forgotten patients -- many of them terminally ill -- who once had a ray
of hope their suffering might be eased.

Now they are again in limbo, suffering needlessly while political
incompetence supports a legal multi-million-dollar operation to grow an
illegal substance. There are the makings of a French farce in this episode,
but we don't feel much like laughing.