Mr. Chairman, in the whole debate on decriminalizing marijuana—even though the government seems to be allergic to the word, that is what we are talking about—the House of Commons committee that reviewed the issue came up with the idea of decriminalizing not only simple possession under 30 grams, but also growing marijuana in the same quantity. If I remember correctly it is recommendation 41 or 42 in the committee report.
I have three questions. First, why was that part of the recommendation on cultivation totally ignored?
Second, since the committee had suggested 30 grams, how did the minister come up with 15 grams? What swayed him in favour of this quantity?
Third, does he not see a contradiction between decriminalizing simple possession—of less than 15 grams—and making it illegal to grow marijuana for personal use? In his announcement today he stated that he had created a new growing infraction starting with one to three plants. This would force marijuana consumers to buy on the black market which, for the most part, is run by the underworld as we all know. Does the minister not see a contradiction between his stated desire to stop drug trafficking and the fact that he is forcing people who want to smoke marijuana—which we discourage—to get their supply on the black market when they could very well grow small quantities of marijuana for their own use?