Indopedia All Things Marijuana
Bill C-45, which would officially legalize and regulate sales and use of recreational cannabis, was approved by the House of Commons last December. However the federal administration “Respectfully disagrees” with 13 of these amendments, most notably one that would allow individual provinces to ban home cultivation of marijuana, CTV News reports. The original law approved by the House would allow any adult Canadian to grow up to four pot plants per household. “We have heard what the senators had to say on this matter, but we will go ahead with the recommendations from experts.”
Another major point of contention between the government and the Senate is an amendment that would prohibit the sale of “Swag” by canna-businesses, including t-shirts or phone cases emblazoned with a company’s logo.
The government also said that it opposed an amendment that would establish a public registry of all canna-businesses’ directors and officers, as well as the directors and shareholders of any controlling corporations or trusts. Proponents of the amendment said it would prevent criminal gangs from using offshore tax havens to invest in legal weed, but the government asserted that the amendment would “Present significant operational challenges and privacy concerns,” according to CTV News.
C-45 has returned to the House of Commons, who will decide whether to approve, remove, or alter the Senate’s amendments. This instance may be an exception to the rule as many Senators have said they are willing to continue their fight to amend the legislation. If the Senate agrees, the bill could receive Royal Assent and become law by the end of the week – but a further round of debate between the two chambers of Parliament could postpone the debut of legal weed in Canada indefinitely.
