Canada lawmakers vote to legalise cannabis

OTTAWA: Canada is set to become the first G7 country to legalise cannabis after lawmakers passed a bill that would allow free consumption of the mind-altering drug.

Passed by 205 votes to 82 in the House of Commons, the legislation must still pass the Senate – which could delay, but not block it – and receive royal assent by the governor general before becoming law, likely by September.

Legalising weed was a 2015 campaign promise of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has acknowledged smoking a joint with friends ‘ five or six times’ including since being elected as an MP.

The Liberal government’s pointman on the pot file, Bill Blair, said at the weekend it was “probably looking at a date of implementation somewhere toward the beginning of September, perhaps midSeptember.”

Uruguay approved the recreational usage of marijuana five years ago and nine US states and the capital Washington have done so too, but Canada will be the first G7 country to take the step.

An initial July 1 target was set for ending the pot prohibition that dates back to 1923, although it was effectively legalised for medical use nearly two decades ago.

Despite setbacks, Trudeau has insisted his government would move to legalise the production, sale and consumption of the psychoactive drug before facing the electorate again in 2019.

Last week, the government rejected 13 out of 46 amendments to the bill proposed by the Senate after several months of study, with Trudeau’s health minister rising to defend home cultivation of cannabis and branded pot swag.

“Canadians are allowed to make beer at home, or wine,” Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor said at the time. — AFP