PSST ... WANNA BUY SOME WEED, MAN?

The Government of Canada is looking for a new pusher. Health Canada's
five-year, $5.75 million contract with its current supplier of
medicinal marijuana is up for renewal at the end of September and,
like it does with any public project, the government will be
soliciting firms and individuals to bid on the marijuana contract.

The government's current supplier--Saskatoon-based Prairie Plant
Systems Inc, which grows its marijuana 360 metres down a copper and
zinc mine's shaft in Flin Flon, MB--will likely bid on the contract,
and could be selected again, although Canadians for Safe Access, a
BC-based medicinal marijuana advocacy group, is encouraging the
government to get its pot from a variety of different growers to offer
users more selection.

"What we need to move beyond is the idea of a single monopoly producer
of medical cannabis," group spokesman Philippe Lucas told the Canadian
Press. "The end users of this product--Canada's critically and
chronically ill--would benefit from having options."

Health Canada currently provides marijuana to approximately 300
Canadians, who typically pay the government agency $150 for 30 grams
of pre-ground pot--which is, um, not a bad deal at all, really. I
mean, so I've heard ...