Canada: the House of Commons votes to legalize cannabis

In a historic vote on Monday evening, Canada's House of Commons, the equivalent of our National Assembly, approved Bill C-45, which will legalize cannabis in the country.

The final vote received 200 votes for and 82 against, with bi-partisan support from Green leader Elizabeth May, Conservative MP Scott Reid and votes from the New Democrats.

The Conservative party made a last-minute attempt to postpone the vote and refer the bill back to the Health Committee. In vain, 199 MPs voted against referral and 83 in favor.

The bill will now go to the Senate where it can be amended. 3 changes have been made before it goes to the House of Commons:

• the 1m height limit for home-grown plants was withdrawn. There was no objective reason to justify this limit.
• visit edibles will have to be regulated within 1 year of legalization
• regulatory changes may be made 3 years after the legalization process has been completed

While the Senate may be in a position to slow the bill's passage, local experts say there's no reason why this should happen. Bill C-45 thus continues its parliamentary journey, which should lead to the creation of the world's largest legal cannabis market.

The legalizing cannabis in Canada is expected on July 1, 2018.