Pubdate: Fri, 19 Sep 2008 Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN) Copyright: 2008 The StarPhoenix Contact: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal - Canada) 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. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin