Marijuana legalization comes one step closer as Senate committee adds amendments to Bill C-45

published on May 28, 2018 by Joan Bryden | The Canadian Press in Global News

A Senate committee has passed more than two dozen amendments to the federal government’s cannabis legalization bill, including one that would allow provinces and territories to ban home-grown marijuana.

But the social affairs committee has refused to accept an amendment that would have prohibited home cultivation outright.

Bill C-45 would allow individuals to grow up to five plants in a single dwelling.

But Quebec and Manitoba have decided to prohibit home cultivation, setting up future legal challenges in which Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould has said the federal legislation would prevail.

The Senate committee, which was conducting a clause-by-clause examination of the bill on Monday, unanimously supported an amendment specifying that provincial and territorial governments have the authority to prohibit homegrown pot if they so choose.

Among committee members supporting the amendment was Independent Sen. Tony Dean, the sponsor of the C-45 in the Senate. That suggests the amendment has the government’s blessing.

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