After several days of deliberations, the Canadian House has rejected 13 of the 46 amendments to Bill C-45, the Cannabis Act, that the Senate had voted to add to the legislation, possibly lengthening the road to legalization.

Among the amendments the House rejected is the option for provinces to ban home cultivation and, most important for the promo industry, the ban on branded merchandise. In its official response, the House said the bill "already includes comprehensive restrictions on promotion” without the amendment first put forward by Conservative Senator Judith Seidman.

Conservative House member Marilyn Gladu expressed concern that her colleagues had rejected the swag ban, saying, "There's [sic] a lot of Canadians out there that are worried that when marijuana is legalized in Canada that they’re going to use Canada Day to come with flags that have cannabis on them, everybody will have a T-shirt with cannabis on it, and it will be disgusting. It will absolutely denigrate our country and the people that have served our country… it will deface that, and the government has allowed those people to continue to have that kind of paraphernalia by refusing the language here.”

But removal of the swag ban would be a boon for companies like Aphria, one of the country’s largest producers headquartered in Leamington, ON.

“How do you differentiate your brand versus somebody else’s brand when you can’t convey messaging on key differences of quality, taste or packaging?” CEO Vic Neufeld told Yahoo! News, who believes advertising will be more regulated than that of alcohol or tobacco. “The biggest obstacle to all licensed producers, not just Aphria, is the handcuffing placed on advertising...I’m concerned there’s going to be a few that bend the line if not break it and what’s the enforcement? The consumers are going to be confused and it’s not good…you should be proud of the brands that you are creating.”

The House debate continues this week, and the bill will move back over to the Senate. If the latter accepts the bill as it now stands, it could go to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by the end of this week. Follow ASI Canada for this developing story.