Perhaps I could speak to this. I haven't had the benefit of hearing Ms. May's argument as to why she proposed this amendment, so I'm just left with my speculation.
The current subclause states as follows:
(3) It is not a defence to a charge arising out of the contravention of subparagraph (1)(a)(ii) that the accused believed that the individual referred to in that subparagraph was 18 years of age or older, unless the accused took reasonable steps to ascertain the individual's age.
Now, we're still talking about the distribution section, where it is possible for someone 19 years of age to sell a joint to somebody 17 years of age and be liable to imprisonment of up to 14 years. I will speak to that in a moment, to what I will argue is the complete disproportion of that provision.
Because of that possibility, I'm going to speak in favour of this amendment. What it does is this: it says that it doesn't matter if the accused believed that the person they were selling to was over 18 unless they took reasonable steps to ascertain the individual's age. About the only way you can take a reasonable step to ascertain someone's age, I guess, is to ask for ID. I think it's pretty unrealistic that at some party where young people are, a 19-year-old who wants to sell a joint for five bucks to another person will say, “Can you show me some ID?” I think that's unrealistic.
I think it should be a defence to a charge arising under this section that the accused believed that the person was under 18. I think that question should be left to the discretion of the judge and the courts to determine whether that was reasonable in the circumstances. If the court finds that they didn't think that was reasonable to believe, then they'll convict them. But if they find that someone reasonably believed that somebody was over the age of 18, and maybe didn't take a reasonable step to ascertain that—again, it's beyond me exactly what that would consist of—then they may acquit. But to absolutely strip a defence from someone that they reasonably believed that somebody was over the age of 18 is essentially adjudicating by Parliament, and I think that's too narrow. I think it's enough to say that it's an offence to sell to somebody under 18, and I don't think we should strip a defence from someone.
I would vote in favour of this amendment.