The Senate should stand down on cannabis

Editorial
The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Monday, May 7, 2018

Conservative senators have been threatening to slow or even kill the Liberal government’s cannabis legalization bill for months. But with a third reading in the upper house approaching, and a Senate committee having just recommended a year’s delay in implementing the law, things are getting serious. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is standing his ground. He insists marijuana will be legal by summer, as planned. He’s right to do so. The Senate’s latest concerns are not enough to justify delaying for 12 months a repeal of criminal sanctions that put blameless people behind bars, and which Canadians effectively voted to scrap in the last election. (See also: In bid to intimidate Canada on cannabis regulation, INCB is reckless and wrong)