Senators make last pitches for and against legalizing pot as vote draws near
Posted Jun 7, 2018 06:25:43 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Senators are giving their final pitches for and against legalizing marijuana as they prepare to vote tonight on the Trudeau government’s landmark legislation to lift Canada’s 95-year-old prohibition on recreational cannabis.
Bill C-45 appears likely to pass, despite the resolute opposition of the 32 Conservative senators and uneasiness among some independent senators.
But that won’t be the end of the pot saga.
Senators have approved almost four dozen amendments to Bill C-45.
If the Senate passes the bill with those amendments, it will go back to the House of Commons, where the government will decide whether to approve, reject or modify the changes before returning it to the Senate for another vote.
Most of the Senate’s amendments are minor, but a handful are significant, including one to allow provinces to prohibit home cultivation of cannabis if they choose, rather than accept the four marijuana plants per dwelling allowed under the bill.
