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Cannabis Act headed to final Senate vote tomorrow

OTTAWA (NEWS 1130) – We’re now a day away from the Senate’s final vote on marijuana legalization, and the Trudeau government is feeling confident pot will legally be sold before the fall.

The bill will be voted on with more than 40 amendments made by the Senate including giving premiers the power to ban home growing of marijuana.

That means if it does pass, it could be in for some political ping pong, being tossed back and for the between the house and the Senate until a final wording is confirmed. That means the bill may not officially pass tomorrow

Nonetheless, Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor says the timeline for legalization looks clear.

“Our provinces and territories have made it very clear that they need a period of time for transition, so we have to factor that in,” she says. “But I’m confident we’ll be able to meet our summer of 2018 deadline.”

The minister won’t comment on whether or not the government would accept the Senate’s amendments, saying she’ll have to wait and see how the vote goes.

“I’m certainly looking forward to the vote tomorrow night, and then from there we’ll be able to evaluate…what our next steps will be moving forward.”

If the Senate votes to amend the bill, it will be sent back to the House of Commons. MP’s can then either accept the amendments and pass the bill or reject the amendments and send it back to the Senate an push for the version without amendments.

Once the bill is passed it has to receive royal assent from the Governor General in order to become law.

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