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We have excerpts of the debate, starting with Church Senator Ashley Rocke's refusal to support the amendment. Here's how that went:

Ashley Rocke - Senator for the Churches
"We understand what you are trying to do, we understand what the law is trying to do but as it relates to the church and its position on the issues of drugs, we cannot support that change. We understand in principle what you are trying to do and what you are trying to accomplish but the question is was there other ways in which this could have been done rather than giving smokers the leeway to smoke, would it not have been better if those people or if the government could have found another way to deal with the drug issue."

Mark Lizarraga - Senator for Business Sector
"I have heard where members of this government, Mr. President, have expressed that this bill is not intended to encourage marijuana use and I believe them and I give them the benefit of all the doubts and I do believe that they are sincere, Mr. Attorney General, in the expression of such. However, in many instances, when mixed with the vast amounts of research that has been conducted on the effects of drugs on brain development and the risk factors that lead to increased usage or as a cause of increased usage, I fear that many aspects of this bill does quite the opposite of what the drafters say."

Mike Peyrefitte - Government Senator
"No proof has been provided to me in my extensive work done on this bill that demonstrates to me that marijuana is any more dangerous than the already legal drugs that I currently use. I drink rum. How is rum, alcohol, liquor, less dangerous than marijuana? We are encouraging mature people who smoke marijuana, which we believe has less of an effect on them than cigarettes and alcohol, to enjoy their marijuana responsibly. All I am saying is that you have people who don't want to smoke cigarettes, don't want to smoke cigars, don't want to drink alcohol, they prefer to smoke marijuana. Why is there such hatred for people who want that particular drug because they are all drugs."

Aldo Salazar - Senator
"The point is that all of a sudden, when this law passes, now everybody is going to run out and start to get high and start to drive their bus and drive their forklift, students are going to start to smoke, go to school, insurance premiums are going to raise and that is really just a fallacious argument because it presupposes that a law like this which decriminalizes small amounts of marijuana will result in a dramatic increase of marijuana use without any evidence iota for that."

Osmany Salas - Senator
"I would like to offer some advice to my fellow senators, in particular, senators for the government side. When we offer comments on this amendment bill I ask you to please don't get overly worked up or overly defensive. This bill will pass, this bill will pass. The two major parties have expressed their support for this bill, so it will pass. And in some respects, it is a very progressive bill."

Dr. Carla Barnett - Senator
"Obviously I rise in support of this amendment. I am not a person who advocates in anyway the use of marijuana. As a matter of fact, I don't advocate the use of any drug except those prescribed by a medical practitioner that is supposed to help you get better. But I do recognize and I believe that we are in a situation in which we have taken a hard-line view on the use of marijuana, a view which does not necessarily coincide with any rational view."

Now, as you heard, the amendment to the law allows for persons to be in possession of not more than 10 grams of marijuana. You cannot take it with you onto the premises of a school, and you can only smoke it in the privacy of your own home, or on your own property.

Now, there is one last step before the law takes effect. The Governor General, directed by the Government, has to sign the law it into effect.