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Canadian News

Canadian House Votes to Legalize Pot

Canada’s House of Commons has voted 205-82 to legalize marijuana before its summer recess this Friday. Bill C-45, the Cannabis Act, now without key amendments that the Senate had added earlier this month, goes back to the Senate, which will need to vote on the new version and pass it before sending it to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s desk.

Among the amendments removed by the House before the vote is a ban on cannabis-branded merchandise. The Senate can now either approve the bill as is, without 13 of 46 amendments they had added, or refuse to approve it.

Before the House vote, opinions on the bill were mixed. Conservative Rosemarie Falk called it “irresponsible legislation,” and fellow Conservative Bob Saroya said that Canadian law enforcement were “not trained” to deal with legalization. Meanwhile, Liberal Adam Vaughn said that regulation was “responsible and smart,” since full prohibition “placed [cannabis] in the hands of kids,” and Liberal Bill Blair, a former Toronto Police chief, said the status quo is “a failed system” that “enriched organized crime” and “targeted vulnerable communities.”

If a decision hasn’t been reached by this Friday, the House could possibly delay its summer recess, though a government official speaking to GlobalNews.ca says there aren’t yet plans to do so.