Pubdate: Sat, 27 May 2000
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: The Vancouver Sun 2000
Contact:  200 Granville Street, Ste.#1, Vancouver BC V6C 3N3
Fax: (604) 605-2323
Website: http://www.vancouversun.com/
Author: Mark Brown, Vancouver Sun; With files from Jack Aubry, Southam News.

CALL FOR POT-GROWERS HEARD AROUND B.C.

The deadline for bids on a federal contract to grow medicinal marijuana is 
June 6.

B.C. Lions president Glen Ringdal, the village of Masset and the B.C. 
forests ministry were among the long list of parties who expressed interest 
in Health Canada's tender call for supplying medicinal marijuana.

Although the forests ministry has already decided it won't put in a bid, 
and Ringdal is dubious, nearly 200 individuals and corporations from across 
Canada sought information on becoming Canada's official marijuana source.

Health Canada announced in early May that it was planning to award a 
five-year, multi-million-dollar contract for a Canadian supplier of the 
drug.  Bids are to be in by June 6.

The contract called for the production of 100,000 cigarettes and 85 
kilograms of marijuana in the first year. The weed has to be cultivated, 
dried, prepared and delivered to the government. The value of the contract 
has been estimated at about $5 million.

The marijuana will be used for clinical research trials to gather 
scientific evidence on whether it's safe and effective for patients to 
smoke marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Ringdal, who is using his number at B.C. Lions as a contact number for the 
application, said he asked for the information because he wanted to find 
out what was involved in the project.

He stressed that his interest is personal and does not involve the football 
club in any way.

Ringdal said he has a partner who is licensed to grow industrial hemp, so 
he already has an interest in the hemp business.

"It's a related business and I wanted to find out what was involved in this 
application," he said.

As for the smoking kind of marijuana, he said that judging from the few 
puffs he took back in 1968, he doesn't even like the smell of it.

He said the application process is very complicated, and the project may 
prove not to be viable. "I don't know if we will ever get to the point 
where we can make an application."

The 65-page information package says bidders must be able to show they have 
the financial capability, the ability to provide a secure environment for 
the project and the proper resources. The government is interested in 
growing the marijuana only in a greenhouse.

Masset sees the tender call as an opportunity to diversify the economy of 
the small, isolated community, said Clinton Mutch, the town's economic 
development coordinator .

Even if the contract means only 20 new jobs, it would be significant for 
the town's 1,400

residents, he said. Mutch said the town has been under a lot

of economic pressure with the Canadian military's withdrawal of a base in 
the region, along with the slowdown of the local fishing and logging 
industries.

The timing for the application was convenient for the town because it was 
already planning to build a greenhouse to grow fresh vegetables for the 
island, Mutch said.

"Even if in five years we lose the contract to another bidder, we are still 
left with the greenhouse, which would be fully paid for."

He said the town is still working on the application and trying to secure 
partners for the project, adding he's not sure if it will be able to meet 
the June 6 deadline.

Even though the B.C. forests ministry felt the project was important enough 
to look at, it has since decided it does not make business sense, said Eric 
Kristianson, the ministry's manager of media relations.

He said the project requires eight hectares (20 acres) of greenhouse space, 
which the ministry does not have.

The ministry had Surrey Nurseries look into the viability of the project, 
but nursery manager Anthony Willington said there were "too many pitfalls 
and speed bumps in the project."

He added, "I was a little surprised we looked at it as closely as we did."

After about a week of analysis, the project was killed at a policy level on 
Monday.

Other potential dope growers from across Canada include McGill and Guelph 
universities, SNC-Lavalin and GW Pharmaceuticals.
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