Job Opening: Weed Supplier for the Canadian Government
For the last five years, Prarie Plant Systems has been the sole provider of marijuana to the Canadian government for research and medicinal usage. The contract, however, is about to run out, leaving Canada to seek bids from other companies.
The re-opening of competition is not necessarily the result of dissatisifaction with Prarie Plant Systems. While initial crops from the Manitoba-based company were returned in mass quantities for being too weak, subsequent improvements made in 2004 resulted in a “return-rate” of less than 2%. Rather, the idea is simply to let taxpayers and users benefit from increased competition, mirroring the government’s policy with its other contracts. The goal of this policy is not only to drive prices down and quality up, but to leave medicinal users with options regarding strains of the drug to which some of them have better responses to than others.
As of now, there is no particular reason to believe that Prarie Plant will lose its contract, although it certainly could. The lessen here, however, is that the classic economic model of free enterprise could benefit everyone involved, except those who shouldn’t–i.e. those who make a crappy product, want to profit too much, and refuse to adhere to legitimately enforced business and production practices—-i.e. the shady drug dealers who currently control the majority of marijuana sales.
Proponents of the legalization of marijuana who wish to argue predominantly on economic grounds (and not as much on touchy-feely, wishy-washy “it expands your mind, man”-type arguments) should pay close attention to how this plays out. This situation actually presents us with a real-life, marijuana-based, large-scale economic experiment from which to learn and from which to present evidence in future cases and for future arguments.
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