CANADA'S MEDICAL MARIJUANA PROGRAM

Up in Smoke?

Many believe Canada's medical marijuana program isn't working. But the
recent expiration of the government contract to Manitoba's Prairie
Plant Systems to supply medical marijuana may just give the program
the shot in the arm it needs.

Despite the fact the Canadian government has already spent more than
$5.5-million on the program, fewer than 200 Canadians are currently
enrolled in the program. The Canadian AIDS Society reports only 1.7
per cent of Canadian medical marijuana patients take part in the
government's program, while 85 per cent of them obtain their marijuana
on the black market.

"The proof is in the pudding - if the product is substandard, people
will get it elsewhere," says Marc Boris St-Maurice of the Montreal
Compassion Centre. "When Health Canada provides a top-notch product,
then you'll find more people using it. Right now there are a lot of
complaints about the quality, the concentration and the state in which
[the pot] is delivered. A lot of that has to do with the restrictions
and guidelines set by Health Canada, so it's not all the fault of
Prairie Plant Systems."

St-Maurice expects the tendering process for a new medical marijuana
contract will be open this September, at which point the Montreal
Compassion Centre will submit a bid. "We have the knowledge and
experience because we deal with patients on a daily basis. We can
deliver a product for a good price and meet Heath Canada's
requirements, and at the same time better educate them to improve the
program. We also think they should have more than one supplier so that
monopoly isn't an issue. Competition is good."

If the Montreal Compassion Centre gets the contract, St-Maurice says
they'll grow the medical marijuana outside Montreal. "We'll set up
shop in small towns in Quebec where people need the work."