Justice Minister clears the air over cannabis law reforms

Justice Minister Owen Bonnici took to Facebook on Monday to answer questions from the public regarding potential new cannabis laws.

This marked the end of a two-month public consultation that the government had launched to listen to people’s views about its White Paper that proposes amendments to drug laws.

“The general public opinion is that we urgently need to reform our drug laws,” a government statement said. “Victims of drug abuse need to be helped, rather than burdened with more problems.”

“The public generally agrees that we urgently need to reform our drug laws so that victims of drug abuse are given more help instead of more problems,” the government said. “At the same time, we need to strengthen our fight against drug traffickers.”

The White Paper suggests that individuals facing prosecution for drug use will no longer face a court hearing but instead appear in front of a justice commissioner who can either give them a warning or refer them to a social board of experts. Repeat offenders will automatically be referred to this board.

However, cannabis will be treated differently to other drugs.

“The White Paper is proposing to consider cannabis differently from other drugs in terms of simple possession, cultivation and its medical use,” Bonnici said, in response to a Facebook question. However, he denied that the government considers cannabis decriminalisation as the first step towards its eventual legalisation.

“We are proposing that simple cannabis possession be treated on the same level as a traffic offence,” Bonnici said. “If it is feared that the user could be using cannabis as a gateway to other drugs, then he could be referred to a social team that will help him kick the habit.”

“As things currently stand, everyone who grows cannabis is subjected to a minimum of six months in prison,” Bonnici said. “Now we’re going to leave it up to the courts to decide whether the ‘cultivator’ should be sent to prison or not. There’s a difference between growing one small plant and growing enough plants to fill up a roof after all.”

“People will not be allowed to grow their own cannabis plants for medical use,” Bonnici said. “Instead, we are proposing that patients can be prescribed medication such as sprays that contains cannabis extracts.”

“We will be analysing the public feedback and use it to help draft a law by next month,” the government said. “Our aim is for Parliament to approve this law before the end of the year.”