MARIJUANA BID DEADLINE EXTENDED

It looks like companies hoping to score the federal contract to
provide medicinal marijuana to licensed patients will have a bit more
time to prepare their bids.

Public Works Canada has extended the deadline for bids on the contract
until Sept. 29. The original deadline was Sept. 15.

The government did not provide a reason for the extension.

The contract is currently held by Saskatoon-based Prairie Plant
Systems, which has been growing marijuana inside a mine in Flin Flon,
Man. A spokesperson for Prairie Plant Systems was unavailable for
comment on Thursday.

Eric Nash is the co-founder of Island Harvest, a B.C. company in the
running for the contract. Although he's unsure of the impetus behind
the extension, Nash speculated the government may not have received a
sufficient number of bids.

"Maybe they've extended it to get a few more applicants," he
said.

Nash also suggested the looming federal election may have affected the
bidding process.

According to Health Canada, 2,432 Canadians are licensed to possess
marijuana for medicinal purposes. Of those people, 68 reside in
Saskatchewan.