(ANSA) - Rome, July 25 - A bill on legalising cannabis will not be voted on until after parliament's summer recess in September, Walter Verini, an MP for Premier Matteo Renzi's centre-left Democratic Party (PD), said on Monday.
Some 2,000 amendments have been presented to the bill, which is set to be debated on the floor of the Lower House on Monday, mostly by lawmakers opposed to it.
"Today we will start the debate (on the bill) without any hypocrisy, but the the examination of the bill will be postponed until September and then the parties will have to decide what approach to take," said Verini, the PD leader in the Lower House's justice committee.
Regional Affairs Minister Enrico Costa, whose portfolio includes family affairs, said in an interview published by Naples daily Il Mattino on Monday that the bill does not have enough support in parliament to pass into law.
"We have other priorities to tackle," said Costa, a member of the New Centre Right (NCD) party, a junior partner in Renzi's coalition government.
Cannabis bill postponed to Sept says PD's Verini
Minister Costa says legislation doesn't have enough support