B.C. TO OTTAWA: 'THIS BUD'S FOR YOU'

Health Canada Calls For Tenders To Supply High-Grade Medical Cannabis.

British Columbia's multi-billion-dollar pot industry has a chance to go
legit with the news Friday that Health Canada is calling for tenders to
supply high-grade medical marijuana.

Announcement of the long-awaited tender was greeted with elation by Hilary
Black, founder of Vancouver's Compassion Club Society. The three-year-old
club operates in a legal grey zone, supplying medical marijuana to more
than 1,000 members with such diseases as AIDS, glaucoma and multiple sclerosis.

"We've been waiting for this," Black said Friday. "That's great that the
bid is finally out."

Brian Taylor, the former mayor of Grand Forks, called the news a huge
economic opportunity for the province and a chance to rehabilitate the
reputation of so-called B.C. Bud.

Taylor has worked for more than three years to establish the Cannabis
Research Institute in Grand Forks, designed specifically to supply medical
marijuana for the Canadian and export market.

Critics have called him a dreamer or a criminal, but Taylor was feeling a
sense of vindication Friday, saying his company, which is being
underwritten by a private share offering, is well placed to bid for the
five-year contract.

"This calls for a whole different way of looking at B.C. pot," he said in
an interview from Grand Forks.

"Instead of it being bike gangs and Asian gangs and police intrusions, this
potentially is a major market for B.C. The reputation has been established
illicitly, but it could be maintained in a [legal] marijuana market for
medical purposes."

B.C.'s reputation for high-quality marijuana has earned it international
criticism from U.S. and even United Nations drug enforcement agencies.

The Organized Crime Agency of B.C. says there are 10,000 illegal growing
operations in B.C., producing an annual crop worth more than $3 billion for
consumption and export.

The government-sanctioned marijuana will be used for clinical research
trials to gather scientific evidence on its safety and effectiveness in
treating medical conditions.

Some seriously ill people say the drug, when smoked or eaten in foods such
as brownies, can ease symptoms of many diseases.

Black says those at the Compassion Club find the drug can ease pain, cut
nausea, reduce the shaking of spastic or degenerative diseases and
stimulate appetites, among other benefits.

Health Minister Allan Rock has issued legal exemptions to several dozen
seriously ill Canadians, allowing them to use the drug. However, until now,
he has not acted to provide a supply for the ill or for research.

The contract calls for a "reliable source of affordable, quality,
standardized marijuana products" for clinical trials. The supplier would
have to grow and store the product, manufacture it into cigarettes and
distribute it to "recipients authorized by Health Canada."

Black said she hopes the Compassion Club will be able to share in the
supply, after years of relying on growers who put themselves at
considerable legal risk.

Taylor, gambling on the potential of medical marijuana, has already
acquired land, and established a plan to grow both outdoor and hydroponic
organic marijuana.

He also has an extensive security plan in place to ensure the crop isn't
stolen from the fields or hijacked on the way to market.

"B.C. needs this new industry," he said. "If we allow this to slide into
the hands of Quebec or an Ontario market, I think we've made a real mistake."

He called Health Canada's announcement the start of "a more sensible
approach" to marijuana.

The bids must be submitted to Ottawa by June 6 and a crop must be ready
within a year.

But Taylor was taking a few minutes to celebrate.

"I've waited so long, I'm going to savour it," he said. "I'm going to have
a glass of wine and sit down."

Today, Vancouver cannabis activists have organized a "millennium marijuana
march" starting at 2 p.m. at the Vancouver Art Gallery at Georgia and Howe
and proceeding to Stanley Park.

The event, including music, face-painting and a pot seed giveaway, is part
of an international effort to end the "global pot prohibition" against
medical or recreational use of the drug.