ReLeaf Malta has welcomed the “bold step” taken by the Government to “promote human rights and public health through concrete policy and legislative changes that focus on the private adult cultivation and consumption of cannabis in Malta.”

In a statement, the NGO said that it is therefore encouraging to observe that the decriminalisation of the private cultivation of a limited number of plants and the replacement of a depenalised system with an administrative fine for the public consumption of cannabis are being proposed in this white paper.

The pressure group highlighted the fact that this proposal also envisions the expungement of criminal records and the important provision of ensuring youths caught consuming cannabis are diverted towards the Commissioner for Justice “instead of facing criminal charges and suffering the ancillary socio-economic consequences of marginalisation and stigma.”

It stressed that “the focus on education and the importance of designing an educational campaign based on harm reduction principles is another important development highlighting the Maltese Government’s commitment and the fruition of the incessant and invaluable work of Hon. Rosianne Cutajar to promote a holistic and comprehensive approach to this social phenomenon.”

The pressure group went on to say that “the contents of the white paper sends out a strong message in favour of promoting a non-criminalised approach for personal cannabis consumers and cultivators and is an initial encouraging first step to ensure the negative measures and human rights abuses of the past are replaced by an evidence-based system placing the health, privacy and well-being of cannabis consumers at the helm of decision making.”

ReLeaf Malta once again emphasised the importance of promoting proportionality on the part of criminal proceedings foreseen and proposed by the white paper, “which would ensure that persons found in possession of larger amounts than what is prescribed by the law, or those involved in small scale non-violent trafficking and cultivation, are not immediately considered as high level and dangerous criminals, but a more in-depth analysis of the situation is carried out.”

It pointed out that “this would ensure the local police force resources continue to focus on the most damaging crimes to society such as domestic violence and other violent crimes.”

“A balanced and informed discussion by all stakeholders should be encouraged in the coming weeks, including the key participation of people who consume cannabis and international experts in law and human rights who are already assisting countries to break free from the shackles of the past and move towards a more sustainable and human rights-based drug policy,” the NGO said.

ReLeaf Malta was formed in 2017 and is a community-based pressure group that “seeks the regulation of cannabis in Malta through safe and sensible policies.”

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