OTTAWA -- Health Canada's long-delayed plan to sell government-certified marijuana in drugstores appears to be back on track for early next year.

The pilot project would stock medicinal pot in some pharmacies for use by authorized patients, making Canada only the second country after The Netherlands to allow easier access through drugstores.

Currently, 237 patients can get Health Canada's medical marijuana through Prairie Plant Systems Inc., which grows the weed in Flin Flon, Man., under a $5.75-million contract with the federal government. Thirty-gram bags of dried buds, costing $150 each, are couriered directly to patients or their physicians.

See: March 17 2003: Medical Marijuana Hits the Shelves in Dutch Pharmacies!

Please also read: Long Term Exposure To Cannabis