GOVERNMENT SEEKS POT PROPOSALS

People who want to grow pot for the federal government may soon get
the chance.

Health Canada's five-year, $5.75-million contract with its current
supplier of medicinal marijuana, Prairie Plant Systems, appears to be
winding down and the department is preparing to seek proposals from
all potential suppliers.

"Public Works and Government Services Canada continues to negotiate
with Prairie Plant Systems to ensure an uninterrupted supply of
marijuana for research and for authorized users while a (request for
proposal) process is carried out to identify a long-term supplier,"
said Health Canada spokeswoman Carole Saindon.

As it does for a wide range of contracts -- from building maintenance
to military supplies -- the government will invite interested
companies and individuals to submit bids for a pot-growing contract.
It will then try to choose the one offering top quality and value for
taxpayers.

The process could result in Prairie Plant Systems being selected
again, or some other supplier could get the nod.

Some who use the current pot supply are urging the government to shop
around.

"What we need to move beyond is the idea of a single monopoly producer
of medical cannabis," Philippe Lucas, a medicinal pot user and
spokesman for the group Canadians for Safe Access, said from Victoria,
B.C.

"The end users of this product -- Canada's critically and chronically
ill -- would benefit from having options."

People on medicinal marijuana respond better to different strains of
the drug, Lucas said, and want the right to choose from a selection.

About 280 patients currently receive the government pot, which Prairie
Plant Systems grows in an unused section of a hard-rock mine near Flin
Flon, Man. Most patients buy 30-gram bags of ground plant buds for
$150.

Health Canada's contract with the company expired last December. It
was renewed until the end of June and has been extended until Sept.
30.